1. Introduction
Aging has different consequences in physical, socio-economic and psychological aspects. One of the most common problems during this period is anxiety. Anxiety in life is a destructive factor that negatively affects a person’s body and mind. Anxiety increases sympathetic nerve activity, intra-tissue damage, platelet aggregation, and decreases immunity. Medication is no longer the best way to control anxiety. There are many methods in complementary medicine that help control anxiety. Aromatherapy is one of the complementary therapies. Aroma odor activates olfactory nerve cells and stimulates the limbic system, releasing neurotransmitters such as encalphine, endorphins, noradrenaline and mydrenaline. One of the most common plants used in aromatherapy is damask rose. Damask roses contain fentyl alcohol, citronellol, linalool and geraniol which have anti-anxiety effects. Another plant used in aromatherapy is orange blossom. It has central nervous system stimulating effects and contains linalool and limonene, which have sedative properties. Since no study has been conducted to compare the effect of aromatherapy with damask rose and orange blossom on anxiety in the community-dwelling elderly people, and due to the interest of the elderly in traditional medicine and the availability of these essential oils, this study aims to evaluate the effect of aromatherapy with damask rose and orange blossom essential oils on anxiety in the elderly.

2. Materials and Methods
This is a quasi-experimental study. Participants were 60 community-dwelling elderly people, who were selected randomly using RANDBETWEEN function in Excel software and based on the incluson criteria. Data collection tools were a demographic form and the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS). The participants were first taught how to use essential oils. They were told to pour 3 drops of damask rose essential oil on a cotton ball with a dropper in three consecutive nights and hold it at a distance of 10 cm from the nose and take three deep breaths. Then, they should pin the cotton soaked in essential oil to the pillow and inhale it until morning when they wake up. After three nights of intervention, the GAS was completed again by the researcher on the fourth day. After one month, the above process was repeated for orange blossom essential oil. Finally, the data were analyzed in SPSS v.25 software considering a significance level of P<0.05. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographic characteristics. To determine the effect of aromatherapy with two essetntial oils on GAS score before and after the intervention, paired t-test was used; and to compare GAS scores after use of two essetntial oils, independent t-test was used. Moreover, to compare the mean GAS ranks after use of two essetntial oils, Wilcoxon rank test was carried out.

3. Results
Of 60 participants, none had left intevention. Independent t-test results showed that the pre-test (P=0.532) and post-test (P=0.503) scores of GAS using damask rose and orange blossom essential oils was not significantly different. Paired t-test results showed that aromatherapy with both amask rose and orange blossom essential oils had a positive effect on improving anxiety in the elderly (P<0.001). Furthermore, Wilcoxon test results showed no significant difference between GAS score changes when two essential oils were used (P=0.729) (Table 1).



4. Conclusion
Aromatherapy with damask rose and orange blossom essential oils both have a positive effect on anxiety in the elderly, and there is no statistically significant difference between them in reducing anxiety. Due to the high prevalence of anxiety in the elderly, this simple and uncomplicated method can be used by educating them about the benefits of aromatherapy. In addition to not interfering with the treatment process of the elderly and its ability to be performed by nurses, this method can achieve significant results in reducing the severity of anxiety in the elderly.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.MAZUMS.REC.1398.553). All ethical principles are considered in this article. The participants were informed about the purpose of the research and its implementation stages. They were also assured about the confidentiality of their information and were free to leave the study whenever they wished, and if desired, the research results would be available to them.

Funding
This study was extracted from the MA. thesis of first author at the Department of Geriatric Nursing, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, and funded by the Deputy for Research and Technology of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences.

Authors' contributions
All authors equally contributed to preparing this article.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Technology, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, the Mehr and Jahandidegan Day Care Centers in Sari city, and Mehr Pouya Center Ghaemshahr City, and all older adults who participated in this study.