METHODSMinnesota State Fair attendees aged >18 years were invited to complete a 17-question, institutional review board-approved survey on essential oil (EO) use. The questionnaire was designed with input by experts in contact dermatitis (E.W. and S.H.) and survey methodology (N.G. and E.W.).
RESULTSHalf of the approached individuals completed the survey. The characteristics of the 282 respondents are summarized in Table 1.Among EO users, the top EO-treated conditions included: musculoskeletal (50.5%), emotional (37.4%), upper respiratory (37.4%) and skin (28.0%) conditions. The reasons cited for EO use included: a desire for alternative treatments (53.4%), the opinion that EOs are safer than traditional therapies (47.6%), and/or failure of standard treatments (10.7%). Of the respondents, 54.5% reported diffusing EOs, and 30.3% incorporated EOs into homemade products ( Table 2). The frequency of specific EO use is shown in Table 3; other commonly used natural products included coconut oil (40.6%), aloe (29.2%), apple cider vinegar (28.3%), shea butter (26.4%), and vitamin E (20.8%).EOs were purchased from health cooperative/food stores (48.8%), family/friends (36.4%), or the internet (22.3%). Nine respondents (7.4%) sold EOs. Ten adverse reactions were reported by eight EO users (rash, n = 3; breathing difficulty, n = 2; burning sensation, n = 2; allergy, n = 2; and burning with urination after oral ingestion, n = 1).
DISCUSSIONThis study has several key findings. First, we found that interest in natural products and use of EOs was high among all respondents (49.6% and 47.2%, respectively). Approximately one third (30.1%) of respondents reported using EOs within the last month. This rate of EO use is similar to that found in a general population study in France (34%). 1 Second, we found that EO use was statistically significantly associated with female sex, younger age, and higher education, but not race. EO use was also significantly associated with interest in natural/botanical products, and having close family members and close friends who are EO users. Third, many EO users treated medical conditions/symptoms (46.7%) with the EOs.The consumer EO market in the United States is largely composed of multilevel/networking marketing strategy companies (direct consumer sales via a hierarchy of individual distributors).
