Aromatherapy reduces fatigue among women with hypothyroidism: A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec id="j_jcim-2018-0229_s_001a_w2aab3b8c51b1b7b1aab1c14b1Aa"><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>This randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial identifies the effect of an aromatherapy blend of essential oils on fatigue, which is one of the most commonly unaddressed symptoms of hypothyroidism, by evaluating the effects of daily aromatherapy inhalation.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="j_jcim-2018-0229_s_002a_w2aab3b8c51b1b7b1aab1c14b2Aa"><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>Participants included women aged 18–55 with a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Women who had a history of thyroid cancer were excluded, due to the confounding effects of cancer on fatigue as the outcome of interest. Participants were randomized into two groups: the aromatherapy group, treated with inhalation of the essential oil blend, and the control group, treated with an odorless vegetable oil blend. The primary outcome was change from baseline in fatigue scores as measured by the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory (MFSI), a validated instrument which measures multiple patterns of fatigue.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="j_jcim-2018-0229_s_003a_w2aab3b8c51b1b7b1aab1c14b3Aa"><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>After adjusting for baseline scores, no significant difference was found between the aromatherapy group and the control group at midpoint. Both groups experienced a reduction in symptoms during the first week of the intervention. At the endpoint, participants in the aromatherapy group had improved fatigue scores across all ten subscales, as compared to the control group. Not all improvements achieved statistical significance, indicating that the aromatherapy treatment has a greater effect on the subscales of global, affective, and general fatigue.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="j_jcim-2018-0229_s_004a_w2aab3b8c51b1b7b1aab1c14b4Aa"><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>This is the first study to evaluate the effects of aromatherapy on fatigue among women with hypothyroidism. These findings provide evidence that regular inhalation of an aromatherapy blend may reduce fatigue among women with hypothyroidism, particularly in the areas of global, affective, and general fatigue.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Comparing the Effect of Aromatherapy with Peppermint and Lavender Essential Oils on Fatigue of Cardiac Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…e results of the study showed the positive and identical effect of both lavender and peppermint essential oils on reduction of mean fatigue in cardiac patients. Various studies have investigated the effect of aromatherapy with lavender and peppermint essential oils on the level of fatigue [26][27][28].…”

“…ere has been no study on the effect of aromatherapy with peppermint essential oil on the level of fatigue in cardiac patients, and existing studies have also been performed on noncardiac patients, whose results are contradictory [27,28,38].…”

“…In the present study, the mean fatigue after the intervention in the peppermint group was significantly reduced. There has been no study on the effect of aromatherapy with peppermint essential oil on the level of fatigue in cardiac patients, and existing studies have also been performed on noncardiac patients, whose results are contradictory [ 27 , 28 , 38 ].…”

“…Aromatherapy with peppermint essential oil has been used to reduce fatigue in hypothyroid and prediabetic patients and has been associated with positive results [ 27 , 28 ], but no study has been performed on cardiac patients so far. Due to the limited number of studies on the effect of inhalation aromatherapy with lavender and peppermint essential oils on fatigue in cardiac patients as well as their different results, the present study was conducted to compare the effect of lavender and peppermint essential oils on fatigue in cardiac patients.…”

Complementary and alternative medicine modalities used to treat adverse effects of anti-cancer treatment among children and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…If the modality is used in place of conventional medicine, it is considered alternative medicine [ 6 ]. Although these modalities alone are not effective for anti-cancer treatment, using them complementary to conventional medicine has shown to improve the health of cancer patients [ 7 ]. Studies have reported that massage therapy [ 5 ] and acupuncture [ 8 , 9 ] among others, provide benefits to patients during cancer treatment.…”