The Effect of Aromatherapy with Lavender Essential Oil on Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Hemodialysis Patients: A Clinical Trial

Background: Depression, anxiety and stress are common among hemodialysis patients affecting their mental health and quality of life, leading to multiple dysfunctions. Anti-anxiety effects of aromatherapy, as one of the domains of complementary medicine, have been investigated in several studies. Aim: Investigation of the effect of aromatherapy with lavender essential oil on depression, anxiety and stress rates in hemodialysis patients. Methods: This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial performed on 60 patients undergoing hemodialysis in Tehran, Iran in 2014. The patients were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. To measure the rate of depression, anxiety and stress, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 was used. In the intervention group, the patients were asked to inhale the lavender essential oil smeared on a piece of cloth (three drops of oil) for one hour during the hemodialysis procedure. After 4 weeks, the rates of depression, anxiety and stress were re-measured. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software version 14 using chi-square, Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U statistical tests. Results: In this study, 33(60%) of the participants were male, and 53(96.4%) were married.  After the intervention, the scores of depression (P