The effects of lavender aromatherapy on menopausal symptoms: A single-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Most menopausal women experience menopausal symptoms. These symptoms negatively affect their health and quality of life. This study aimed to assess the effects of lavender aromatherapy on menopausal symptoms. This was a single-blind parallel randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial. A random sample of seventy women was recruited in February–July, 2017, from NavvabSafavi healthcare center, Isfahan, Iran. Women were randomly allocated to intervention and placebo groups. The setting of the study was NavvabSafavi healthcare center, a leading center of healthcare delivery in Isfahan, Iran. Recruited women were randomly allocated to receive either 2 lavender aromatherapy (the intervention group) or placebo aromatherapy with distilled water (the placebo group). They were provided with containers of either 2 lavender essential oil or distilled water and were trained to apply two drops of the provided liquid ona piece of paper towel and attach the towel to their collar twenty minutes before nighttime sleep for four whole weeks. Two research assistants used Kupperman Menopausal Index to assess menopausal symptoms before and one, two, three, and four weeks after the onset of the intervention. They completed the index through interviewing participants. Menopausal symptoms in both intervention and placebo groups significantly decreased during the study (P < 0.05), but the decrease in the intervention group was significantly greater than the placebo group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the menopausal symptoms in the intervention group were significantly lower than the placebo group at the second to the fifth measurement time points (P < 0.05). Lavender aromatherapy is effective in significantly alleviating menopausal symptoms and thereby, can improve menopausal women’s health and well-being. © 2018, Advanced Scientific Research. All rights reserved.