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Cited by 123Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchAcupuncture Treatment Research StudiesMedicinal Plant Extracts Effects

Comparison of the efficacy of aroma-acupressure and aromatherapy for the treatment of dementia-associated agitation

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Yang, Man-Hua, Lin, Li-Chan, Wu, Shiao-Chi, Chiu, Jen-Hwey, Wang, Pei-Ning, Lin, Jaung-Geng·2015·BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
DOI 10.1186/s12906-015-0612-9PMC PMC4381454
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: One of the most common symptoms observed in patients with dementia is agitation, and several non-pharmacological treatments have been used to control this symptom. However, because of limitations in research design, the benefit of non-pharmacological treatments has only been demonstrated in certain cases. The purpose of this study was to compare aroma-acupressure and aromatherapy with respect to their effects on agitation in patients with dementia. METHODS: In this experimental study, the participants were randomly assigned to three groups: 56 patients were included in the aroma-acupressure group, 73 patients in the aromatherapy group, and 57 patients in the control group who received daily routine as usual without intervention. The Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) scale and the heart rate variability (HRV) index were used to assess differences in agitation. The CMAI was used in the pre-test, post-test and post-three-week test, and the HRV was used in the pre-test, the post-test and the post-three-week test as well as every week during the four-week interventions. RESULTS: The CMAI scores were significantly lower in the aroma-acupressure and aromatherapy groups compared with the control group in the post-test and post-three-week assessments. Sympathetic nervous activity was significantly lower in the fourth week in the aroma-acupressure group and in the second week in the aromatherapy group, whereas parasympathetic nervous activity increased from the second week to the fourth week in the aroma-acupressure group and in the fourth week in the aromatherapy group. CONCLUSIONS: Aroma-acupressure had a greater effect than aromatherapy on agitation in patients with dementia. However, agitation was improved in both of the groups, which allowed the patients with dementia to become more relaxed. Future studies should continue to assess the benefits of aroma-acupressure and aromatherapy for the treatment of agitation in dementia patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR-TRC-14004810; Date of registration: 2014/6/12.

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  • Nonpharmacological alternatives, including music therapy, aromatherapy, art therapy, behavioral therapy, reality orientation, tailored activities, and physical exercises, have shown promising results for the management of BPSD.

    “Nonpharmacological alternatives, including music therapy, aromatherapy, art therapy, behavioral therapy, reality orientation, tailored activities, and physical exercises, have shown promising results for the management of BPSD [21–23].”

    From Nonpharmacological Interventions to Reduce Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: A Systematic Review (2015) · cites this paper as [21]

    The Background (page not provided) says aromatherapy has ameliorated agitation in patients with dementia, and the Conclusions (page not provided) report reduced agitation in the aromatherapy and aroma-acupressure groups. The paper does not provide support for the other listed approaches—music, art, or behavioral therapy, reality orientation, tailored activities, or physical exercise—as treatments for BPSD. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Aromatherapy may be beneficial to agitated patients with dementia.

    “Aromatherapy may be beneficial to agitated patients with dementia [21, 27, 31].”

    From Nonpharmacological Interventions to Reduce Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: A Systematic Review (2015) · cites this paper as [21]

  • Aroma-acupressure and aromatherapy had significant effect in reducing agitation (p < 0.01 and p = 0.01, resp.) when compared to the control group.

    “Results showed that aroma-acupressure and aromatherapy had significant effect in reducing agitation (p < 0.01 and p = 0.01, resp.) when compared to the control group.”

    From Nonpharmacological Interventions to Reduce Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: A Systematic Review (2015) · cites this paper as [21]

  • Aromatherapy has been used to address behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, sleep disturbances, and to stimulate motivational behavior in people with dementia.

    “Indeed, aromatherapy has been used to address BPSD (181–186) and sleep disturbances (187–189) and to stimulate motivational behavior (190).”

    From The Multidisciplinary Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia. A Narrative Review of Non-Pharmacological Treatment (2018) · cites this paper as [185]

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Authors
Yang, M.-H., Lin, L.-C., Wu, S.-C., Chiu, J.-H., Wang, P.-N., & Lin, J.-G.
Affiliations
  • National Yang Ming University (TW)
  • China Medical University (TW)
Corresponding author
Lin, Li-Chan
ORCID
Venue
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-03-29
Volume
15
Issue
1
Pages
93-93
ISSN
1472-6882 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12906-015-0612-9
PMC
PMC4381454
OpenAlex
W1973219304
Cited by
123
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2
FWCI
7.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Acupuncture Treatment Research Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Medicinal Plant Extracts Effects
Keywords
dementia, agitation, aromatherapy, non-pharmacological treatment, heart rate variability, sympathetic activity, parasympathetic activity, Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Dementia, Female, Heart Rate, Humans, Male, Psychomotor Agitation, Treatment Outcome, Acupressure, Aromatherapy

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