芳香療法改善婦女更年期症狀、心率變異及睡眠品質之成效

Effect of Aromatherapy on Menopausal Symptoms, Heart Rate Variability, and Sleep Quality in Women

背景：芳香療法可改善焦慮、憂鬱、心率變異及睡眠問題，然而芳香療法對婦女在更年期症狀、心率變異及睡眠品質健康照護之成效尚未明確。目的：本研究設計以芳香療法為介入措施，評值其對婦女的更年期症狀、心率變異及睡眠品質之改善成效。方法：本雙盲隨機控制試驗與重複測量研究，以某醫學中心為收案場所，符合收案條件者共計84名，以塊狀排列隨機分派。實驗組吸入芳香精油，對照組則為甜杏仁油，每晚20分鐘，持續4週，再追蹤2週。測量工具包括格林更年期症狀量表、心率變異分析儀及匹茲堡睡眠品質量表。結果：在考量年齡對於結果變項影響下，廣義估計方程式中組別與時間交互作用的效果，實驗組及對照組的所有結果變項在介入措施期間皆達顯著差異（p＜.05），除了對照組的睡眠品質變項在第2週未達顯著差異（p＝.066）。結論／實務應用：為期四週的芳香精油介入有助於對停經婦女改善更年期症狀、自律神經系統的活性及睡眠品質，且無不良生理反應發生。未來可做為門診推展促進婦女更年期健康之參考。

Background: Studies have shown that aromatherapy improve health problems related to anxiety, depression, heart rate variability (HRV), and sleep. However, the effect of aromatherapy in women who suffer from menopausal syndrome and its specific effects on HRV and sleep quality are unknown. Purpose: This study designed an aromatherapy intervention and evaluated its effect on menopausal syndrome, HRV, and sleep quality in women. Methods: This double-blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted at a medical center hospital. A total of 84 participants who met the study criteria were randomly assigned using permuted block randomization. The experimental group received a 20-min inhalation of essential oil and the control group received a 20-min inhalation of sweet almond oil every night for 4 weeks. Posttest data was collected at 2 weeks after completion of the intervention. Data were collected using the Green Menopausal Symptom Scale, HRV device, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results: After adjusting for age, the results of the generalized estimation equations (GEE) showed that all outcomes were significantly different in both the experimental group and the control group (p < .05) for the interaction effect of group and time, and that the outcome of sleep quality on the 2nd week in the control group was not significantly different (p = .066). Conclusions/ Implications for Practice: This study supports that the 4-week aromatherapy intervention improves menopausal symptoms, the activity of autonomic nervous systems, and sleep quality in women with no adverse side effects. In the future, this intervention may be applied in outpatient departments to promote the health of menopausal women.