ArticleJournal of epidemiology2021
Does Laughter Predict Onset of Functional Disability and Mortality Among Older Japanese Adults? The JAGES Prospective Cohort Study.
Article in Journal of epidemiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of laughter on focus and stress in middle-aged adults: a single-blind, randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Trial
- Effect of laughter exercise versus 0.1% sodium hyaluronic acid on ocular surface discomfort in dry eye disease: non-inferiority randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Trial
- Laughter yoga as an enjoyable therapeutic approach for glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Trial
- Effects of a laughter program on body weight and mental health among Japanese people with metabolic syndrome risk factors: a randomized controlled trial.BMC geriatrics · 2022Trial
- The Role of Humor and Self-Care in Longevity: A Systematic Review of Psychological and Behavioral Health Literature.Cureus · 2026Review
- Laughing During Conversations, But Not in Response to Digital Media, Is Associated With Less Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Social Withdrawal: A Cross-Sectional Study of German Adults in 2023.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Stress-reducing effect of laughter in live comedy performance from salivary α-amylase and salivary oxytocin.BMC research notes · 2025Article
- Frequency of Conversation, Laughter and Other Vocalising Opportunities in Daily Life and Maximum Tongue Pressure: The Goto Longevity Study.Journal of oral rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Association between frailty and oral function in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A multi-center, observational study.Archives of rheumatology · 2025Article
- Social Isolation Among Older Adults With Dysphagia Requiring Home Health Care: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Taiso practice and risk of functional disability and dementia among older adults in Japan: The JAGES cohort study.SSM - population health · 2024Article
- Association of laughter and social communication with oral frailty among residents in Fukushima: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Utilization of Japanese long-term care-related data including Kaigo-DB: An analysis of current trends and future directions.Global health & medicine · 2024Review
- Estimating Health Expectancy in Japanese Communities Using Mortality Rate and Disability Prevalence.JMA journal · 2024Article
- Does online communication mitigate the association between a decrease in face-to-face communication and laughter during the COVID-19 pandemic? A cross-sectional study from JACSIS study.Preventive medicine reports · 2023Article
- Subjective Happiness, Frequency of Laughter, and Hypertension: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Association between C-Reactive Protein Levels and Functional Disability in the General Older-Population: The Takashima Study.Journal of atherosclerosis and thrombosis · 2023Article
- Association between visual status and the frequency of laughterBMJ open ophthalmology · 2022Article
- Association between frequency of laughter and oral health among community-dwelling older adults: a population-based cross-sectional study in Japan.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2021Article
- Laughter therapy: A humor-induced hormonal intervention to reduce stress and anxiety.Current research in physiology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWhile laughter is broadly recognized as a good medicine, a potential preventive effect of laughter on disability and death is still being debated. Accordingly, we investigated the association between the frequency of laughter and onset of functional disability and all-cause mortality among the older adults in Japan.
methodsThe data for a 3-year follow-up cohort including 14,233 individuals (50.3% men) aged ≥65 years who could independently perform the activities of daily living and participated in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study were analyzed. The participants were classified into four categories according to their frequency of laughter (almost every day, 1-5 days/week, 1-3 days/month, and never or almost never). We estimated the risks of functional disability and all-cause mortality in each category using a Cox proportional hazards model.
resultsDuring follow-up, 605 (4.3%) individuals developed functional disability, identified by new certification for the requirement of Long-Term Care Insurance, and 659 (4.6%) deaths were noted. After adjusting for the potential confounders, the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio of functional disability increased with a decrease in the frequency of laughter (P for trend = 0.04). The risk of functional disability was 1.42 times higher for individuals who laughed never or almost never than for those who laughed almost every day. No such association was observed with the risk of all-cause mortality (P for trend = 0.39).
conclusionsLow frequency of laughter is associated with increased risks of functional disability. Laughter may be an early predictor of functional disability later on in life.
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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.