The Effects of Aromatherapy on Premenstrual Syndrome Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

Abstract

ObjectivesPremenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a common disturbance among women of childbearing age. Aromatherapy is a commonly used form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to treat PMS. The purpose of this study is to quantify and summarize the effects of aromatherapy on premenstrual syndrome symptoms. Methods. PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases were searched through relevant search terms until October 2020. The effect sizes were pooled as weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) using the random effect model. Egger tests and visual inspection of the funnel plot were performed to identify the existence of publication bias. The I-squared (I2) test was applied to measure heterogeneity. Results. Eight studies (n = 8) were included in this analysis. The quantitative synthesis of evidence found that aromatherapy decreases PMS scores (WMD –13.83; 95% CI (−22.04, −5.63), I2 = 94.5%), total psychological symptoms of PMS (WMD –3.51; 95% CI (−4.84, −2.18), I2 = 82.6%), anxiety of PMS (WMD–1.78; 95% CI (−3.17, −0.38), I2 = 94.2%), depression of PMS (WMD–2.0; 95% CI (−3.65, −0.34), I2 = 93.7%), and fatigue of PMS (WMD – 1.44; 95% CI (−2.44, −0.44), I2 = 89.7%) compared to the control group. Conclusion. Aromatherapy is an effective tool for the relief of PMS symptoms. Additional randomized controlled clinical trials with different durations and essential oils should be conducted to confirm our findings.

Effects of Satureja brevicalyx essential oil inhalation on coping premenstrual syndrome

“…According to the evidence, aromatherapy is an effective tool to manage PMS symptoms, in fact, anxiety, depression, and physical symptoms and total score of PMS decrease after odor plants application. 2 This is in accordance with the results expressed in this investigation where all variables showed a decrease after intervention in EG, especially in anxiety which revealed the greatest effect size and percentage of change. Indeed, some studies have found that PMS emotional symptoms decrease after aromatherapy intervention.…”

“…1 This syndrome includes psychological symptoms such as mood swings, anger, irritability, lack of concentration, anxiety, depression, sleep difficulties, between others. 2 Besides, physical symptoms such as headache, fatigue, appetite changes, gastrointestinal symptoms, etc., are present. 3 The intensity of these symptoms may vary between women, affecting their quality of life.…”

“…10 Aromatherapy is a component of CAM, which involves the inhalation of EOs, some of them used to counteract gynecological ailments. 2 In fact, literature confirmed that EOs relief multiple symptoms of PMS. [11][12][13] These natural volatile oils derived from herbal medicine are considered inexpensive, safe, useful, as well as easy to obtain.…”

Management of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: A Scoping Review

“…Although many potential therapeutic CAM candidates have been studied in some form, including anise, 97 Echium amoenum, 98 ginger, 99 Melissa officinalis, 100,101 royal jelly, 102 curcumin, 103 Ginkgo biloba, 104 Zataria multiflora, 100,105 Nardostachys jatamansi, 106 Phaleria macrocarpa, 107 oxaloacetate, 108 Neptune Krill Oil, 109 fennel, 110 soy, 111 wheat germ, [100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112] and lecithin, 113 for the purpose of this review we will cover interventions with the most data available for adult women (Table 3). Similarly, CAM approaches with minimal data available and for which dosing cannot be quantified, specifically aromatherapy, 114 kinesio taping, 115,116 external Qi therapy, 117,118 and Chinese herbal medicine practice 119 are considered outside the scope of this review.…”

Psychological and neurophysiological effects of inhaled aromatherapy

“…Research, Society and Development, v. 11, n. 14, e442111436361, 2022 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v11i14.36361 3 Studies report that the inhalation of essential oils is capable of producing changes in physiological parameters [eg. blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, pupil dilation, body temperature, blood flow, electrodermal and cerebral activities] (Zhang & Yao, 2019;Es-Haghee et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2016;Chen et al, 2015). Inhalation and oral administration were two common methods for essential oil manipulation in pre-clinical and clinical trials, while massage was used only in clinical trials with humans and intraperitoneal injection was only used in pre-clinical trials (Zhang N & Yao, 2019).…”