How Does Hedonic Aroma Impact Long-Term Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life in Women with Breast Cancer? A Cross-Lagged Panel Model Analysis

Marta Pereira, Célia Sofia Moreira, Pawel Izdebski, Alberto C. P. Dias, Cristina Nogueira-Silva and M. Graça Pereira
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Marta Pereira: Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, 4704-553 Braga, Portugal
Célia Sofia Moreira: Faculty of Sciences, Center of Mathematics (FCUP & CMUP), University of Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
Pawel Izdebski: Institute of Psychology of the Kazimierz Wielki, University in Bydgoszcz, 85-064 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Alberto C. P. Dias: Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA), University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Cristina Nogueira-Silva: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, School of Medicine, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
M. Graça Pereira: Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi), School of Psychology, University of Minho, 4704-553 Braga, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: Depression and anxiety are common symptoms during and after adjuvant chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer (BC), with implications on quality of life (QoL). The present study evaluates the temporal relationship between anxiety, depression, and QoL (primary outcomes), as well as the impact of hedonic aroma (essential oils) on this relationship. This is a secondary analysis of a previously reported randomized controlled trial, with two groups: an experimental group (n = 56), who were subjected to the inhalation of a self-selected essential oil during chemotherapy, and a control group (n = 56), who were only subjected to the standard treatment. The hedonic aroma intervention occurred in the second (T1), third (T2), and fourth (T3) chemotherapy sessions, three weeks apart from each other. The follow-up (T4) assessments took place three months after the end of the treatment. Cross-lagged panel models were estimated in the path analysis framework, using structural equation modeling methodology. Regarding the control group, the cross-lagged panel model showed that anxiety at T1 predicted anxiety at T3, which in turn predicted both QoL and depression at T4. In the experimental group, hedonic aroma intervention was associated with stability of anxiety and QoL over time from T1 to T3, with no longitudinal prediction at T4. For women undergoing standard chemotherapy treatment, anxiety was the main longitudinal precursor to depression and QoL three months after chemotherapy. Thus, essential oils could complement chemotherapy treatment for early-stage BC as a way to improve long-term emotional and QoL-related adjustment.

Keywords: breast cancer; chemotherapy treatment; anxiety; depression; quality of life (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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