Efficacy of aromatherapy with Rosa damascena in the improvement of sleep quality of cancer patients: A randomized controlled clinical trial

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Highlights

  • Sleep disorder is common medical complaint in cancer patients.

  • Aromatherapy is the practice of using aromatic essential oils extracted from plants to prevent or treat of diseases.

  • Aromatherapy with R. damascena essential oil has a beneficial effect on improving sleep quality in cancer patients.

Introduction

Sleep disorders are among the most common medical complaints in cancer patients. One of the outcomes of sleep disorders is their adverse effect on the quality of life and individual's social function. The results of previous studies show that sleep disorders in cancer patients are not regularly monitored or treated by health care providers and this can lead to an exacerbation of many of the patient's problems, such as fatigue, anxiety, depression, and eventually progression of cancer [1]. Based on statistics, 25–50% of all the prescriptions for cancer patients are hypnotic agents, the most prevalent of which are benzodiazepines. Drowsiness, dizziness, irritability, and amnesia are some side effects of these drugs, which are experienced by many patients, preventing them from taking the medication [2].

Nowadays, there is an increasing interest towards complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) [3,4], especially toward medicinal herbs [5,6]. This issue is related to the use of simple, safe, and effective therapeutic methods used to improve and optimize the quality of life, especially in cancer patients [7,8]. CAM methods help the patients to manage their problems with remedies with lower side effects and even lower socio-economic costs [9,10]. Moreover, various recent studies suggest that CAM methods such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbal medicine and yoga could improve the cancer patients’ quality of life [[11], [12], [13], [14]].

Aromatherapy is one of the CAM methods with a history of several thousand years [14,15]. Aromatherapy is used to treat various diseases through extracted essence of different parts of plants such as flowers, leaves and stems. Essences are volatile oils that have broad different dosage forms including inhalation, oral and topical ones [16]. The results of many studies suggest that aromatherapy is effective in improving the sleep quality [[17], [18], [19]].

Rosa damascene Mill (R. damascena) is a medicinal herb which is one of the most important species of the Rosaceae family [20]. This plant has many antimicrobial, anti-AIDS, and anti-diabetes effects and has sedative and hypnotic properties [21]. The results of clinical studies have also shown sedative effects of R. damascena without any serious side effects [21,22]. In the traditional Persian references, for instance, the Liber Continens authored by Rhazes (865-925 AD) Canon of Medicine written by Avicenna (980-1037 AD) and the Storehouse of Medicaments by Aghili Shirazi (1670–1747 AD), it has been mentioned that R. damascena has sedative, analgesic, and cerebrotonic properties [[23], [24], [25]]. If R. damascena aromatherapy is effective in improving sleep disorders, it can be used as a complementary medicine in cancer patients, especially in those who prefer to take natural medicine. The value of this therapeutic modality is that it is not a systemic dosage form and does not interfere with the patients’ routine drugs, so it can be useful, especially in patients who are on chemotherapy treatment.

Since previous studies have confirmed sedative and hypnotic effects of R. damascena, the present study aimed to examine the efficacy of R. damascena aromatherapy in the improvement of sleep quality in patients who suffered from cancer.

Section snippets

Study design

This study was a randomized, single blind, controlled clinical trial which was designed with the aim of evaluating the effect of aromatherapy on the sleep quality of cancer patients. The subjects were selected among cancer patients referring to the oncology clinic of Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital, (Tehran, Iran); we used random sampling method and the inclusion criteria to select the patients.

Sample and sampling method

Initial interview with the cancer patients referred to the oncology clinic of Shohadaye Tajrish was done

Patients’ enrollment

From October 2016 to June 2017, 72 volunteers were assessed for eligibility. Fifty four patients who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the trial were divided into three groups. Eighteen patients were assigned to the Rosa essential oil 5% group, 18 to the Rosa essential oil 10%, and 18 to the control group. Detailed description of the patients’ enrolment, randomization and analysis is shown in Fig. 1.

Baseline clinical characteristics

The mean age in the control group was 50.20(±18.54) years; in the

Discussion

In this study, the effect of aromatherapy with two different concentrations of R. damascena essential oil on the quality of sleep in cancer patients was investigated and the results showed that the patients’ sleep quality was significantly improved in two aromatherapy groups in comparison to the control group. In the two experimental groups, sleep latency was significantly lower than the control group; also, the duration of night sleep in the two experimental groups was significantly higher

Conclusion

The results of this study showed that the cancer patients’ sleep quality was significantly improved in two aromatherapy groups with two different concentrations of R. damascena essential oil in comparison to the control group. Therefore, it seems that aromatherapy with R. damascena essential oil could be considered as a suitable complementary therapy for improvement of sleep quality of the cancer patients. However, well-designed, randomized controlled trials with long-time follow up are

Acknowledgments

The study was financially supported by School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (grant NOP: 171).

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