ArticleEvidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM2009
Humor and Laughter May Influence Health IV. Humor and Immune Function.
Article in Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed.
- Medical clown intervention shortens length of hospitalization in children with pneumonia.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Effects of laughter on focus and stress in middle-aged adults: a single-blind, randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- A digital media attention diversion improves mood and fear in patients receiving chemotherapy for recurrent gynecologic malignancies: results of a randomized trial.International journal of gynecological cancer : official journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society · 2020Trial
- The Effect of Clown Intervention on Self-Report and Biomarker Measures of Stress and Fatigue in Pediatric Osteosarcoma Inpatients: A Pilot Study.Integrative cancer therapies · 2018Trial
- The Effects of Laughter Yoga on Perceived Stress, Positive Psychological Capital, and Exercise Capacity in Lung Cancer Chemotherapy Patients: A Pilot Randomized Trial.Integrative cancer therapiesTrial
- Clowning in care: long-term effectiveness of clown visits on residents' affect, resilience, sleep quality and functionality.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- The Role of Humor in Inoculation Theory.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Coping Styles and Defense Mechanisms in Healthy Young Adults-Correlations with tPA-BDNF Pathway.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Association between frailty and oral function in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A multi-center, observational study.Archives of rheumatology · 2025Article
- Relationship between client laughter and session outcomes in metaverse counseling.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- Assessment of Medical Clowning in Influencing the Anxiety and Behavior Scores of Children Undergoing Various Dental Treatments and the Stress Levels of the Operator.International journal of clinical pediatric dentistry · 2024Article
- Understanding the Association Between Humor and Emotional Distress: The Role of Light and Dark Humor in Predicting Depression, Anxiety, and Stress.Europe's journal of psychology · 2023Article
- Do humour styles moderate the association between hopelessness and suicide ideation? A comparison of student and community samples.PloS one · 2023Article
- Effects of Simulated Laughter Therapy Using a Breathing Exercise: A Study on Hospitalized Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Editorial: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on the Relationship Between Humor and Health: Theoretical Foundations, Empirical Evidence and Implications.Frontiers in public health · 2021Article
- Laughter therapy: A humor-induced hormonal intervention to reduce stress and anxiety.Current research in physiology · 2021Review
- The impact of medical clowns exposure over postoperative pain and anxiety in children and caregivers: An Israeli experience.Pediatric reports · 2019Article
- Systematic review protocol examining the effectiveness of hospital clowns for symptom cluster management in paediatrics.BMJ open · 2019Article
- Pregnancy posting: exploring characteristics of social media posts around pregnancy and user engagement.mHealth · 2019Article
- Exploring the meaning and practice of self-care among palliative care nurses and doctors: a qualitative study.BMC palliative care · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This is the final article in a four part series reviewing the influence of humor and laughter on physiological and psychological well-being. This final article reviews the evidence for the effect of sense of humor, exposure to a humor stimulus and laughter on various immune system components, with a focus on the effects of laughter on natural killer cell cytotoxicity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.