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Kim, Song, Kim, and Hur: Effects of Aromatherapy on Menopausal Symptoms, Perceived Stress and Depression in Middle-aged Women: A Systematic Review
Review Article

Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing 2016; 46(5): 619-629.

Published online: 31 October 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2016.46.5.619

Effects of Aromatherapy on Menopausal Symptoms, Perceived Stress and Depression in Middle-aged Women: A Systematic Review

Shinmi Kim1, Ji-Ah Song2, Mi-Eun Kim3, Myung-Haeng Hur4

1Department of Nursing, Changwon National University, Changwon, Korea.

2Department of Nursing, Woosong College, Daejeon, Korea.

3Department of Nursing, Gimcheon University, Gimcheon, Korea.

4College of Nursing, Eulji University, Daejeon, Korea.

Address reprint requests to : Hur, Myung-Haeng. College of Nursing, Eulji University, Daejeon, 77 Gyeryong-ro 771 beon-gil, Jung-gu, Daejeon 301-746, Korea. Tel: +82-42-259-1714, Fax: +82-42-259-1709, mhhur@eulji.ac.kr

Received 8 December 2015       Revised 13 July 2016       Accepted 15 July 2016

© 2016 Korean Society of Nursing Science

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NoDerivs License. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/) If the original work is properly cited and retained without any modification or reproduction, it can be used and re-distributed in any format and medium.

Abstract

Purpose

This study was a systematic review to evaluate the effects of aromatherapy on menopausal symptoms, perceived stress and depression in middle aged-women.

Methods

Eight databases were searched from their inception September 8, 2015. Two reviewers independently performed the selection of the studies, data abstraction and validations. The risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane criteria. For analysis of the data, a meta-analysis of the studies was performed.

Results

From the electronic databases, 73 articles were selected, and 19 removed due to duplication. After two reviewers read the abstracts of 54 studies, 34 studies were selected. Complete papers for 34 original articles were read and, 12 studies which met selection criteria were reviewed and the effects of aromatherapy on menopausal symptoms, stress and depression analyzed using meta-analysis with RevMan. In the 2 studies which included Randomized Controlled Trials testing of aromatherapy on menopausal symptoms and comparison of control and placebo groups were done. Aromatherapy massage was favorably effective in reducing the menopausal symptoms compared to the control group (n=118, MD=-6.33; 95% CI -11.51 to -1.15), and compared to the placebo group (n=117, MD=-4.14; 95% CI -7.63 to -0.64). Also aromatherapy was effective in reducing stress (n=72, SMD=-0.64; 95% CI -1.12 to -0.17) and depression (n=158, MD=-5.63; 95% CI -10.04 to -1.22).

Conclusion

There is limited evidence suggesting that aromatherapy for middle-aged women may be effective in controlling menopausal symptoms, perceived stress and depression.

Keywords: Aromatherapy, Menopause, Stress, Depression, Systematic Review

Figures and Tables

Figure 1

Study flow diagram of a systematic review.

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Figure 2

Risk of bias for included study.

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Figure 3

Forest plot of the effects of aromatherapy for middle-aged women.

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Table 1

Searching Strategy

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Table 2

Summary of RCTs and CCTs Examining Aromatherapy in Middle-aged Women

jkan-46-619-i002

RCTs=Randomized Controlled Trials; CCTs=Controlled Clinical Trials; VAS=Visual Analogue Scale.

Notes

This paper was supported by the Changwon National University Research Fund in 2015

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

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