Effect of Lavender Aromatherapy on Anxiety and Fatigue in Hemodialysis Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background: Several studies have evaluated the effects of lavender essential oil on the anxiety of hemodialysis (HD) patients, but most of them did not estimate the pooled effect size. The current systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of lavender on anxiety and fatigue among HD patients.
 Methods: Eligible studies were selected based on the PRISMA steps and protocol. Literature was retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus databases, Cochrane, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Google Scholar Search Engines until Sep 2022. The risk of bias and analysis were evaluated using version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and STATA v.14 software, respectively. Effect sizes were pooled using random effect models.
 Results: Nine studies were included. Lavender oil significantly reduced the average anxiety of HD patients compared to the control group (SMD: -2.51, 95% CI: [-3.56, -1.45], Z=4.67, P<0.001, I2 :89.9%). Also, it significantly reduced the average fatigue compared to the control group (SMD: -1.56, 95% CI: [-2.49, -0.63], Z=3.29, P=0.001, I2:92.2%). Subgroup analysis indicated controversial results regarding session frequency and drop number of lavender oil.
 Conclusion: Using Lavender oil significantly reduced fatigue and anxiety in HD patients.