1.2. Aromatherapy for anxiety and depression
Wilkinson et al.studied aromatherapy massage in a large multicenter
trial of cancer patients that experienced anxiety and/or
depression. These patients experienced significant improvement in
anxiety and/or depression for the six week randomization study,
compared with those receiving usual care alone. Lee YL et al
reviewed sixteen randomized control trials of aromatherapy
studies for anxiety symptoms. Fourteen of the sixteen studies
reported positive findings as to the anxiolytic effects of aromatherapy,
while the remaining two studies reported no effect of the
aromatherapy toward anxiety symptoms. In these sixteen studies,
lavender was the most commonly used essential oil. Yim et al
found a notable lack of studies on aromatherapy use for the treatment
of depression or depressive symptoms. The six studiesmeeting
their criteria suggested aromatherapy may improve the mood of
patients with depressive symptoms and the team recommended
continuation of aromatherapy as a complementary therapy for
patients with depressive symptoms. Imura et al examined the
effect of aromatherapy-massage in healthy postpartum mothers. In
the aromatherapy-massage group, post treatment scores signifi-
cantly decreased in the Approach/Feeling toward Baby subscale.
Their results suggest that aromatherapy-massage might be an
effective intervention for postpartum mothers to improve physical
and mental status and to facilitate mothereinfant interaction.