SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Experimental Therapeutics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1623116
Effects of TCM aromatherapy on post-stroke depression: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Provisionally accepted
- 1Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
- 2The Affiliated TCM Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, guangzhou, China
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Abstract Background Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) aromatherapy has been gradually applied to patients with post-stroke depression (PSD), but uncertainty remains. To systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TCM aromatherapy in the treatment of post-stroke depression, we aim to conclude by synthesizing randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods We searched the following databases in English and Chinese: China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM), Wanfang Database, VIP Database, Chaoxing, PubMed, and The Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials on the effects of TCM aromatherapy intervention in patients with post-stroke depression. The search period was from the inception of each database to February 20, 2025. After evaluation according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4. Results Ten RCTs involving 614 patients were included. The meta-analysis indicates that, compared to the control group, TCM aromatherapy can ameliorate depressive symptoms in patients with PSD [SMD=0.53, 95% CI (0.19, 0.87), P=0.003]. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that TCM aromatherapy alone or combined with other therapies appears to be effective in improving depression symptoms of stroke survivors, but high-quality evidence evaluating TCM aromatherapy for PSD is still needed.
Keywords: Traditional Chinese Medicine aromatherapy, post-stroke depression, Meta-analysis, therapy, Essentail oil
Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 06 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Yan and Lv. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jindan Lv, The Affiliated TCM Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, guangzhou, China
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