The feasibility of aromatherapy massage to reduce symptoms of Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance: A pilot study

Abstract

Objectives: Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance (IEI) is an acquired disorder with multiple recurrent symptoms, which is associated with diverse environmental factors that are tolerated by the majority of people. IEI is an illness of uncertain aetiology, making it difficult to treat using conventional medicine.Therefore, there is a need for novel therapies to control the symptoms of IEI. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and impact of aromatherapy massage for individuals with IEI.Design: Non-blinded crossover trial Setting: IEI patients who attended a clinic in Sapporo city were recruited, and sixteen patients were enrolled. Participants were clinically examined by an experienced medical doctor and met the criteria included in the working definition of IEI disorder.Interventions: During the active period, participants received four one-hour aromatherapy massage sessions every two weeks. During the control period, the participants did not receive any massages.Main outcome measurements: Scores on the IEI-scales trigger checklist, symptoms, life impact, and the State Anxiety Inventory were assessed before and after each period. Short-term mood enhancement was evaluated using the Profiles of Mood Status (POMS) before and after sessions.Results: Due to period effects, evaluation of the results had to be restricted to the first period, and the result showed no effect of intervention. All six sub-scales of the POMS improved after each session.(mean score differences: 4.89 to 1.33, p<0.05).Conclusions: Aromatherapy was well tolerated by subjects with IEI; however, aromatherapy, as applied in this study, did not suggest any specific effects on IEI condition.

The Effectiveness of Aromatherapy for Depressive Symptoms: A Systematic Review

“…The comparison groups used in the studies included no intervention group ( n = 6) [20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29], vehicle group ( n = 4, received vehicle such as carrier oil or water) [18, 19, 21, 23], and active control group ( n = 2; usual supportive care and cognitive behavior therapy, well known treatments with positive effect on the outcome measures) [25, 27]. …”

“…The duration of the studies was 4, 8, 10, and 12 weeks and 2 years. Weekly sessions were carried out in most of the studies [19, 24, 25, 27–29]; only in one study the frequency was once every 2 weeks [26]. The number of sessions per week also varied from once or twice weekly to once every 2 weeks.…”

“…The most frequently used instruments were HADS and POMS [18, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27] followed by EPDS which was used in 2 studies [19, 22]. Other assessment tools include the MADRS [23], MRD [28], BDI [29], and CES-D [25].…”

“…Five out of 8 studies showed positive effects of aromatherapy when the intervention was carried out in combination with massage [23, 26–29]. In the study of Lemon [23], the assessment of depressive symptoms using MDRS showed slight improvement in the control group which was expected and attributed to the effect of massage alone.…”

“…Lemon [23] concluded that aromatherapy massage had beneficial effect on subjects who showed mild or higher degree of depressive symptoms. Araki et al [26] observed a statistically significant difference ( p < 0.001) in the depression subscale of the POMS when comparing the baseline and end point scores. Although aromatherapy did not show to have any beneficial effect for the management of idiopathic environmental intolerance, the data reported showed that aromatherapy massage improved all the subscales of the POMS including depression.…”