Uso do óleo essencial de lavanda no tratamento da ansiedade e depressão: uma revisão de revisões sistemáticas

Abstract

Common Mental Disorders (CMD) are characterized as anxiety and depression somatic disorders. The Brazilian universal healthcare system (SUS) currently offers 29 Integrative and Complementary Practices (ICPS) in a comprehensive, integral and free way, aimed at treating and/or preventing CMD. Within the complementary therapies utilized by SUS there is aromatherapy, which can be done with lavender essential oil (EO), which has been standing out for its multiple benefits, presenting expressive results in the treatment of anxiety and depression. Thus, we ask: what is the use of lavender essential oil in the treatment of anxiety and depression? Objective: to review systematic reviews studies and to describe the use of lavender essential oil in the treatment of anxiety and depression. Methodology: We carried out a review of systematic reviews (overview). Scientific papers were searched in the PubMed, Scielo (Scientific Eletronic Library), Science Direct an Web of Science databases between March and November 2021, using the descriptors: “lavandula”, “ansiedade” and “depressão”, and “lavender”, “anxiety” and “depression”. The criteria of inclusion were: studies in Portuguese and English; studies describing the use of lavender essential oil in the treatment of anxiety and depression carried out with humans and published between 2007 and 2020. Two researchers extracted information from the selected studies through the Joanna Briggs Institute's Critical Assessment Checklist. The software Rayyan QCRI, as well as EndNote X8, aided in the recording and the removal of duplicates. Results: Initially, 736 studies were selected. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 9 articles remained and were considered for this overview, of which 1 was a meta-analysis and 8 were systematic reviews. For the schematization of these steps, the guidelines contained in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA, 20) were used. To evaluate the methodological quality of the systematic reviews, we used the instrument “A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews” (AMSTAR2). In the studies selected, we found that the use of lavender essential oil presented satisfactory results in the treatment of anxiety, and the oral administration was the most common route of administration. The significant improvement in the quality of sleep in adult patients was also an important factor, compared positively with the use of commonly prescribed drugs for the treatment of these disorders, such as Paroxetine and Lorazepam. The low rate of adverse reactions and the positive intervention in the symptoms considered physiological effects of anxiety, such as increased heart rate and decreased chromogramin A, were also found after the use of lavender essential oil. The treatment with lavender essential oil is low cost, does not cause dependency or serious adverse effects. No effective results were found for the treatment of depression. Conclusion: The mechanism of action and the applicability of each of the routes of administration described in this research show the effectiveness of using lavender essential oil for the treatment of anxiety. No effective results were presented, in this study, for the treatment of depression.