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The effects of lavender aromatherapy on menopausal symptoms: a single-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial
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| Author:
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MOZHGAN JOKAR, ZAHRASEIFI, FERESHTEH BARADARANFARD, MARZIYEH KHALILI, SOHEILA BAKHTIARI*
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| Abstract:
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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.
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| Keyword:
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Menopause, Menopausal symptoms, Aromatherapy, Lavender essential oil
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| EOI:
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| DOI:
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https://doi.org/10.31838/ijpr/2018.10.04.044
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| Download:
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