The effect of aromatherapy oils on premenstrual syndrome symptoms

Abstract

Overview of the Chosen Topic: Office on Women’s Health (2018) states that premenstrual syndrome is common amongst 90% of women worldwide, with symptoms such as mood swings and back pains, experienced a week before menstruation. This dissertation focuses on the use of aromatherapy oils to reduce the premenstrual symptoms. The Research Question: Does the use of aromatherapy oils reduce the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome? PICO Elements: population (P) studied consists of females between the ages of 18-45 years all suffering from premenstrual symptoms. The intervention (I) focused on the use of aromatherapy oils whilst the comparison (C) was no use of aromatherapy oils. The expected outcome (O) was a reduction in premenstrual symptoms. Methods: A set of keywords were chosen prior to starting the systemic search on multiple databases so as to ensure that the retrieved literature is related to the chosen topic. Boolean Operators were used to further specify the search. The PRISMA Model was used in order to systemically sort out the retrieved documents. Randomised trials were the most commonly retrieved studies. The inclusion/exclusion criteria (Table 2.6) was used as a guideline. The CASP Tool was utilised in order to critically analyse the chosen studies and closely identify their relevance to the subject. Results: There was a total of 4 studies which were chosen, including 2 randomised clinical trials, 1 clinical trial and a randomised cross-over trial. All the results obtained from the chosen studies suggested that aromatherapy oils are effective in reduction of symptoms related to premenstrual syndrome. Conclusion: The conclusion identified was that the use of aromatherapy oils does in fact reduce both physical and emotional symptoms. However, more research is required in this area as the information available is minimal and a majority of it is not specific to the topic. Implications and Recommendations: The recommendations focus on the need for a higher number of studies. Future studies should also focus on larger populations to ensure higher representation of the target population.