Abstract
Objective
Aromatherapy has been used for patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), but the outcomes are still controversial. Thus, we conducted this study to systematically evaluate the effect of aromatherapy on the quality of life of patients on MHD.
Methods
We searched the PubMed, Embays, Scopus, Web of Science, and CNKI databases for randomized controlled trials that evaluated the use of aromatherapy in dialysis patients and reported at least one outcome of interest.
Results
Twenty-two relevant studies were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis revealed that aromatherapy significantly increased subjective sleep quality (a lower score indicates better sleep quality) [standardized mean difference (SMD) = −1.52, 95% CI (−2.38, −0.67), p < 0.01] and reduced fatigue [SMD = −1.14, 95% CI (−1.95, −0.33), p = 0.01], anxiety [SMD = −1.38, 95% CI (−2.09, −0.67), p < 0.01], symptoms of restless legs syndrome [RLS; SMD = −1.71, 95% CI (−2.09, −1.33), p < 0.01], and arteriovenous fistula puncture pain [SMD= −1.56, 95% CI (−2.60, −0.52), p < 0.01].
Conclusions
Aromatherapy may be used as a novel complementary and alternative therapy to improve sleep quality and reduce fatigue, anxiety, symptoms of RLS, and arteriovenous fistula puncture pain in patients on MHD.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank American Journal Experts (AJE) for the language editing service.
Author contributions
Conceptualization: Yong Zhang, Cong Zhang, and Wen-Jun Gou
Data curation: Yong Zhang and Wen-Jun Gou
Formal analysis: Yong Zhang and Wen-Jun Gou
Investigation: Cong Zhang and Wen-Jun Gou
Methodology: Yong Zhang, Cong Zhang, and Wen-Jun Gou
Project administration: Yong Zhang, Cong Zhang, and Wen-Jun Gou
Resources: Yong Zhang, Cong Zhang, and Wen-Jun Gou
Software: Yong Zhang and Wen-Jun Gou
Supervision: Yong Zhang, Cong Zhang, and Wen-Jun Gou
Validation: Yong Zhang, Cong Zhang, Yong-Fang Yang, and Hang Mu
Visualization: Yong Zhang, Cong Zhang, Yong-Fang Yang, and Hang Mu
Roles/Writing – original draft: Yong Zhang and Wen-Jun Gou
Writing – review and editing: Yong Zhang and Wen-Jun Gou
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
Data are available on reasonable request from the authors.