Can aromatherapy reduce restless legs syndrome in hemodialysis patients? a systematic review and meta-analysis

This study conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of aromatherapy in reducing restless legs syndrome (RLS) in hemodialysis patients.

Using the population, intervention, comparison, outcome, study design framework, a search was conducted of eight electronic databases: PubMed, Cochrane, Embase-Ovid, CINAHL, Web of science, Scopus, PQDT, and RISS. The population was hemodialysis patients, and the intervention included aromatherapy aiming at RLS, compared to control groups receiving placebo or usual care. The outcome measured was RLS, and the study design was randomized controlled trials.

The analysis included seven articles presenting results from 10 studies, and the pooled overall effect of aromatherapy on RLS in hemodialysis patients was shown by a Hedge's g of -1.84 (95% confidence interval: -2.45 to -1.23). Meta-regression analysis revealed greater effectiveness in studies that received funding. Age over 60, lavender oil use, intervention duration of less than 4 weeks, sessions longer than 30 minutes, a routine care control group, and quality assessment score of 10 or less were associated with RLS reduction.

The study concluded that aromatherapy is effective for managing RLS in hemodialysis patients.