SynthesisDementia and geriatric cognitive disorders extra
Effectiveness and Safety of Aromatherapy in Managing Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders extra. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mind-body therapies for older adults with dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European geriatric medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Article
- Review
- Thermal Cycling Stimulation via Nasal Inhalation Attenuates AβInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- "Heartbreaking, Hardest Part of the Job": A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Acute Care Nurses' Work with Patients with Dementia Who Self-Neglect Their Hygiene.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Effects of a home-based aromatherapy programme for the management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia among older persons with dementia: A randomised controlled trial with process evaluation.Integrative medicine research · 2025Article
- Contemporary Nonpharmacological Strategies to Manage Preoperative Anxiety: Nonsystematic Review.Acta medica Lituanic · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionBehavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) is the most prominent and distressing manifestation for older persons with dementia (PWD) and caregivers. Aromatherapy has demonstrated its effectiveness in managing BPSD in various studies. However, previous studies and systematic reviews have obtained inconsistent findings, and a review of qualitative studies is yet to be conducted.
methodA mixed-methods systematic review with a convergent segregated approach was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of aromatherapy in improving the BPSD and quality of life (QoL) of PWD and in relieving the distress and burden of caregivers, as well as its safety for PWD. Both published and unpublished quantitative and qualitative studies written in English and Chinese between January 1996 and December 2020 were retrieved from 28 databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science, based on the prespecified criteria. The methodological quality was assessed by using critical appraisal tools from the Joanna Briggs Institute. Quantitative synthesis, qualitative synthesis, and integration of quantitative and qualitative evidence were performed.
resultsA total of 12 randomized controlled trials, 10 quasi-experimental studies, and 2 qualitative studies were included in the review. Some inconsistent findings regarding the effectiveness of aromatherapy in reducing the severity of BPSD were observed. Some studies reported that aromatherapy significantly improved the QoL of PWD and relieved the distress and burden of caregivers, promoted a positive experience among caregivers, and had very low adverse effects on PWD (with aromatherapy inhalation reporting no adverse effects).
conclusionAromatherapy, especially in the inhalation approach, could be a potentially safe and effective strategy for managing BPSD. However, more structuralized and comparable studies with sufficient sample size, adherence monitoring, and sound theoretical basis could be conducted to obtain conclusive findings.
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