Department of Yoga, Government Yoga and Naturopathy Medical college & Hospital, Arumbakkam, India
 Research Article   
								
																Effect of a Single Session of Bergamot Orange Aromatherapy on Cardiac Autonomic Function among Patients with Depression 
																Author(s): Thanalakshmi*, Karthikeyan, Kannan, Vinoth Kanna, L.Sundareswaran, Arbind Kumar Choudhary, Department of Yoga and K Maheshkumar             
								
																
						 Background: Depression is becoming a major health concern in recent times, and nearly 350 million people suffer from depression. Reduced cardiovagal tone in patients with depression is well documented and contributes to higher cardiac morbidity and mortality.
Objective: To investigate the effect of single session Bergamot orange essential oil aromatherapy on the cardiac autonomic function using Heart Rate Variability (HRV) among depression patients.
Method:
The study included 80 patients (45 male, 35 female; age range 35 – 65, mean 44.92 ± 12.5) with HAMD (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) score of above 20. They were randomly allocated to either the Intervention group (Aromatherapy exposure group) (n = 40) or the Placebo control group (Water exposure group) (n = 40) in a 1:1 ratio. Berga.. View More»