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Comparing the Effects of Lavender Aromatherapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Sexual Function in Women in Iran.

Nursing for women's health
October 1, 2024
Zahra Teimori et al. (6 authors)
Journal ArticleRandomized Controlled TrialComparative StudyResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to compare the effects of lavender aromatherapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for sexuality (MBCT-S) on female sexual function.

Results Summary

Lavender aromatherapy showed a significant positive effect on sexual arousal but had no significant impact on improving sexual orgasm. Both intervention groups (lavender and MBCT-S) demonstrated improvements in sexual desire, pain, satisfaction, and lubrication, with MBCT-S showing stronger effects in these areas.

Population

Sixty married women aged 18-45 years with sexual dysfunction, recruited from health centers in Roudan city, Iran.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (8)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
lavender aromatherapy
no change
sexual orgasm
married women ages 18 to 45 years
no significant effect
had no significant effect on improving
#1
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for sexuality (MBCT-S)
no change
sexual orgasm
married women ages 18 to 45 years
no significant effect
had no significant effect on improving
#2
lavender aromatherapy
increase
sexual arousal
married women ages 18 to 45 years
-
may improve
#3
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for sexuality (MBCT-S)
increase
sexual arousal
married women ages 18 to 45 years
-
showed the same effect for
#4
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for sexuality (MBCT-S)
increase
sexual desire
married women ages 18 to 45 years
-
were positively higher in
#5
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for sexuality (MBCT-S)
increase
pain
married women ages 18 to 45 years
-
were positively higher in
#6
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for sexuality (MBCT-S)
increase
satisfaction
married women ages 18 to 45 years
-
were positively higher in
#7
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for sexuality (MBCT-S)
increase
lubrication
married women ages 18 to 45 years
-
were positively higher in
#8
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of aromatherapy with lavender and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for sexuality (MBCT-S) on female sexual function. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Health centers in Roudan city, Iran. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty married women, ages 18 to 45 years, were recruited using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Participants were selected from health centers in 2022 via convenience sampling. INTERVENTION AND MEASUREMENTS: Upon their completion of a demographic checklist and the FSFI as a pretest, participants were divided into three groups, including lavender aromatherapy (n = 20), MBCT-S (n = 20), and control (n = 20) through random selection with permutation blocks. All groups completed FSFI as a posttest. Data were analyzed by SPSS 26 using chi-square, Wilcoxon, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney statistical tests. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference among the three groups before the intervention (p = .652), but there was a significant difference among them after the intervention (p = .001). There was a significantly positive difference between the intervention groups and the control group (p < .001). A significant relationship was observed among the three groups in sexual desire, pain, satisfaction, lubrication, and arousal. The mean scores of the posttest in sexual desire, pain, satisfaction, and lubrication were positively higher in the MBCT-S group than in the aromatherapy group, and both intervention groups showed the same effect for sexual arousal. Aromatherapy and counseling had no significant effect on improving sexual orgasm. CONCLUSION: MBCT-S can be used to improve many aspects of female sexual function, except for orgasm disorders; aromatherapy may improve sexual arousal.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
HumansFemaleAromatherapyIranAdultLavandulaMindfulnessMiddle AgedAdolescentCognitive Behavioral TherapyOils, VolatileSexual BehaviorSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung Adult
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy70/10
Quality80/10
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.05
Weight Score2.43
Normalized Score0.64
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