Effects of Stress-reducing Aromatherapy

Physiologic and Expectancy Effects of Stress-reducing Aroma in Older Adults

The study purpose is to evaluate efficacy of stress-reducing aromatherapy and learn about how aromatherapy works.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stress-related Problems
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: aroma

Detailed Description

The study purpose is to evaluate efficacy of stress-reducing aromatherapy and learn about how aromatherapy works by comparing participants' physiologic responses to laboratory challenge tasks with and without experiencing aromatherapy.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 92
• Phase: Phase 2; Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Oregon
    • Portland, Oregon, United States, 97239
      • Oregon Health & Science University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 50 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• in good physical and cognitive health
• reporting moderate level of stress
• able to perceive aromas
• able to understand and follow study instructions

Exclusion Criteria:

• taking medications affecting central nervous system (CNS) function or physiologic measures (e.g. steroids or neuroleptics)
• reporting smell sensitivities or allergies
• smoking presently or in the past less than one year prior to enrollment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: stress reducing aroma; aroma with reported stress reducing effects	Other: aroma; Comparison of known stress reducing aroma to placebo aromas without stress-reducing effects; Other Names: lavandula angustifolia; cocos nucifera; aqua destillata
Placebo Comparator: Placebo aroma 1	Other: aroma; Comparison of known stress reducing aroma to placebo aromas without stress-reducing effects; Other Names: lavandula angustifolia; cocos nucifera; aqua destillata
Placebo Comparator: Placebo aroma 2	Other: aroma; Comparison of known stress reducing aroma to placebo aromas without stress-reducing effects; Other Names: lavandula angustifolia; cocos nucifera; aqua destillata

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Percent of Baseline Level of Salivary Cortisol	Percent of baseline level of salivary cortisol (values greater than baseline indicate increased stress)	assessed at baseline (60 min prior to aroma exposure and stress), stress battery (30 min after aroma exposure and during stress), post-stress (60 min after completing stress battery)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Electroencephalography (EEG) Frontal Asymmetry	EEG frontal asymmetry (FA) is used to assess emotional state. EEG FA processing was completed by averaging local reference EEG filtered offline from 0.1 to 70 Hz (with 60 Hz notch filter). 5-min data periods during each time were segmented into 2 seconds epochs, and the semi-automatic artifact rejection was applied. The remaining artifact-free epochs were subjected to Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) . The power spectra for individual epochs were averaged, and the measures of EEG spectral density were obtained for alpha band (8 -12.99 Hz). Square root values of power were used, and frontal hemispheric asymmetry was calculated as ((L-R)/(L+R))*100, where L and R are square root values at the homologous left and right hemisphere sites (using local average reference values at F3 and F4). With this calculation, FA negative values reflect lower alpha power (higher activation) in the left hemisphere linked to a more positive mood. This is a unit-free measure.	assessed at baseline (60 min prior to aroma exposure and stress), at the onset of aromatherapy exposure, stress battery (30 min after aroma exposure and during stress), post-stress (60 min after completing stress battery)
Cognitive Performance: Percent Change From Baseline in Digit Span Backward Task Score	Percent change from baseline in cognitive performance score on the Digit Span Backward (DSB) task. DSB scores range from 0 to 16, with greater scores indicative of better cognitive function. Positive change from baseline indicates better functioning.	Baseline (60 min prior to aroma exposure and stress), post-stress (60 min after completing stress battery)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Oregon Health and Science University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Barry S Oken, MD, Oregon Health and Science University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Chamine I, Oken BS. Aroma Effects on Physiologic and Cognitive Function Following Acute Stress: A Mechanism Investigation. J Altern Complement Med. 2016 Sep;22(9):713-21. doi: 10.1089/acm.2015.0349. Epub 2016 Jun 29.
• Chamine I, Oken BS. Expectancy of stress-reducing aromatherapy effect and performance on a stress-sensitive cognitive task. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015;2015:419812. doi: 10.1155/2015/419812. Epub 2015 Jan 31.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: December 1, 2010
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 2, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 2, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): March 3, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 19, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 15, 2019
• Last Verified: July 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: older adults; stress; aromatherapy; stress-related change
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB#00006890