Hawkins Jessie, Hires Christy Y, Dunne Elizabeth W, Keenan Lindsey A
Franklin School of Integrative Health Sciences, Aromatherapy, 504 Autumn Springs Ct ste 6, 37067 Franklin, United States of America.
Franklin School of Integrative Health Sciences, University of Alabama in Birmingham, 504 Autumn Springs Ct ste 6, 37067 Franklin, United States of America.
J Complement Integr Med. 2019 Aug 22;17(1):/j/jcim.2019.17.issue-1/jcim-2018-0229/jcim-2018-0229.xml. doi: 10.1515/jcim-2018-0229.
Background This randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial identifies the effect of an aromatherapy blend of essential oils on fatigue, which is one of the most commonly unaddressed symptoms of hypothyroidism, by evaluating the effects of daily aromatherapy inhalation. Methods Participants included women aged 18-55 with a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Women who had a history of thyroid cancer were excluded, due to the confounding effects of cancer on fatigue as the outcome of interest. Participants were randomized into two groups: the aromatherapy group, treated with inhalation of the essential oil blend, and the control group, treated with an odorless vegetable oil blend. The primary outcome was change from baseline in fatigue scores as measured by the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory (MFSI), a validated instrument which measures multiple patterns of fatigue. Results After adjusting for baseline scores, no significant difference was found between the aromatherapy group and the control group at midpoint. Both groups experienced a reduction in symptoms during the first week of the intervention. At the endpoint, participants in the aromatherapy group had improved fatigue scores across all ten subscales, as compared to the control group. Not all improvements achieved statistical significance, indicating that the aromatherapy treatment has a greater effect on the subscales of global, affective, and general fatigue. Conclusions This is the first study to evaluate the effects of aromatherapy on fatigue among women with hypothyroidism. These findings provide evidence that regular inhalation of an aromatherapy blend may reduce fatigue among women with hypothyroidism, particularly in the areas of global, affective, and general fatigue.
这项随机、双盲、安慰剂对照临床试验，通过评估每日吸入芳香疗法精油混合物的效果，确定其对疲劳的影响，疲劳是甲状腺功能减退最常见的未得到解决的症状之一。
参与者包括年龄在18 - 55岁、被诊断为甲状腺功能减退的女性。由于癌症对作为研究重点的疲劳结果有混杂影响，有甲状腺癌病史的女性被排除。参与者被随机分为两组：芳香疗法组，通过吸入精油混合物进行治疗；对照组，通过吸入无味植物油混合物进行治疗。主要结局是通过多维疲劳症状量表（MFSI）测量的疲劳得分相对于基线的变化，MFSI是一种经过验证的工具，可测量多种疲劳模式。
在对基线分数进行调整后，芳香疗法组和对照组在中期没有发现显著差异。两组在干预的第一周症状都有所减轻。在终点时，与对照组相比，芳香疗法组的参与者在所有十个子量表上的疲劳得分都有所改善。并非所有改善都具有统计学意义，这表明芳香疗法对整体、情感和一般疲劳的子量表有更大的影响。
这是第一项评估芳香疗法对甲状腺功能减退女性疲劳影响的研究。这些发现提供了证据，表明定期吸入芳香疗法精油混合物可能会减轻甲状腺功能减退女性的疲劳，特别是在整体、情感和一般疲劳方面。
