Aroma therapy showed benefit for people with dementia in the only trial that contributed data to this review, but it is important to note there were several methodological difficulties with this study. More well designed large-scale RCTs are needed before clear conclusions can be drawn on the effectiveness of aroma therapy. Additionally, several issues need to be addressed, such as whether different aroma therapy interventions are comparable and the possibility that outcomes may vary for different types of dementia.
Aromatherapy and behaviour disturbances in dementia: a randomized controlled trial.
A random controlled trial of the relaxing effects of an aromatherapy massage on disordered behaviour in dementia was conducted. Twenty-one patients were randomly allocated into one of three conditions, aromatherapy and massage (AM), conversation and aromatherapy (CA) and massage only (M). AM showed the greatest reduction in the frequency of excessive motor behaviour of all three conditions. This reached statistical significance between the hours of three and four pm (p < 0.05). Post hoc analysis suggested that at this time of day the AM consistently reduced motor behaviour when compared with CA (p = 0.05). This provides preliminary evidence of a measurable sedative effect of aromatherapy massage on dementia within a robust scientific paradigm. Further research is recommended with an expanded sample size.
                Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.