https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2023.1200448/full
That's a big red flag for me.
Industry has long hired researchers to conduct research supporting marketing claims to sell products such as tobacco and vape products.
Interesting points about the study
- Participants self-selected, and answered a questionnaire regarding fragrance use. The questionnaire is not posted, but one could assume that they selected people who already use and believe in aromatherapy. This could bias the study if participants expect or believe that they will achieve benefits from the treatment conditions due to placebo effect.
- The sample size was very small - 43 participants.
- They eliminated from consideration anyone who who has
asthma, allergies, or an odor response, which produces symptoms similar to those of an allergy, including runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, or skin rash
that might be negatively affected by scents. Other conditions that they used to screen out were anxiety, ADHD, diabetes, high blood pressure and a whole host of ailments common among older folks. So the sample was extremely cherry-picked and not representative of the general population of older folks.
Since 30% of of the general population does have sensitivities to the chemicals in scents, their findings don't generalize to all - just those who self-selected, presumably already use and believe in the benefits of scents, and report no negative reactions to them.
- There are no peer reviews of the research. Perhaps it is too recent, but it has all the hallmarks of industry-sponsored research that is often dubious and self-serving.
Here is a study about the dangers of even "organic" scents to health
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653523018374?via%3Dihub
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