Effect of Aromatherapy with Essential oil of Lavandula Angustifolia Mill- Citrus Bergamia and Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Sexual Function, Anxiety, and Depression in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial with Factorial Design

Mandana Mojtehedi; Hanieh Salehi-Pourmehr; Alireza Ostadrahimi; Solmaz Asnaashari; Khalil Esmaeilpour; Azizeh Farshbaf-Khalili

doi:10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_129_21

Effect of Aromatherapy with Essential oil of Lavandula Angustifolia Mill- Citrus Bergamia and Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Sexual Function, Anxiety, and Depression in Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial with Factorial Design

Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2022 Sep 14;27(5):392-405. doi: 10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_129_21. eCollection 2022 Sep-Oct.

Authors

Mandana Mojtehedi¹, Hanieh Salehi-Pourmehr², Alireza Ostadrahimi³, Solmaz Asnaashari⁴, Khalil Esmaeilpour⁵, Azizeh Farshbaf-Khalili⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
² Neuroscience, Research Center for Evidence-based medicine, Iranian EBM Centre, A Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Center of Excellence, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
³ Nutrition Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
⁴ Biotechnology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
⁵ Faculty of Education and Psychology, Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran.
⁶ Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Research Centre, Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Due to the importance of psychological support for women during menopause as a period with a high prevalence of mental health problems, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of the essential oil of lavender-Bergamot (La-Ber) and Mindfulness-Based Intervention (MBI) on sexual function, anxiety (primary outcome), and depression score (secondary outcome) in postmenopausal women with sexual dysfunction.

Materials and methods: This controlled randomized trial with a factorial design was performed on 132 postmenopausal women. Participants were randomly allocated into four equal groups: Aromatherapy-Routine Care (Aroma-RC), MBI-Placebo (MBI-P), Aromatherapy-MBI (Aroma-MBI), or Routine Care-Placebo (RC-P). Two to three drops of La-Ber or a similar placebo were inhaled three times a day for 8 weeks. Eight sessions of MBI intervention were conducted. At the end of the intervention and eight weeks afterward, the outcomes were assessed.

Results: The sexual function score improved significantly in Aroma-MBI (adjusted Mean Difference [aMD]: 2.4, 95% CI: 0.01 to 4.80) and MBI-P (aMD: 2.6, 95% CI: 0.2 to 5.1) groups compared to the RC-P group. The anxiety score was reduced in the Aroma-RC group at the end of the intervention (aMD: -4.12, 95% CI: -7.41 to -0.72; p = 0.020) and eight weeks later as well as in the Aroma-MBI group. In terms of depression, the mean score of depression was significantly lower than the RC-P group in the Aroma-RC group at the end of the intervention (p = 0.011).

Conclusions: MBI and aromatherapy seem effective on sexual function and menopausal anxiety. MBI improves sexual function, while aromatherapy ameliorated anxiety and depression.

Keywords: Anxiety; behavior therapy; complementary therapies; depression; menopause; psychological; sexual dysfunctions.