Trial reportBMC geriatrics2022
Effects of a laughter program on body weight and mental health among Japanese people with metabolic syndrome risk factors: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC geriatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Laughter Therapy on Improving Negative Emotions Associated with Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Oncology · 2024Pooled it
- 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
- The effect of 8 weeks of laughter yoga training on cardiorespiratory indices in adolescent girls aged 13-15 in Shahrekord.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2026Article
- Unlocking optimism in everyday life: a short-term study on the power of live comedy to reduce stress and anxiety in general public.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2025Article
- Investigating the effect of laughter yoga on happiness and life expectancy in an elderly population.Journal of education and health promotion · 2025Article
- Association of laughter and social communication with oral frailty among residents in Fukushima: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- 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
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWhile there have been several intervention studies on the psychological effects of laughter, few have examined both the psychological and physical effects. This study investigates the effects of a laughter program on body weight, body mass index (BMI), subjective stress, depression, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Japanese community-dwelling individuals using a randomized controlled trial with a waitlist.
methodsOverall, 235 participants (37 men and 198 women) aged 43-79 years (mean 66.9, median 67.0) were randomized into laughter intervention and control groups (n = 117 and n = 118, respectively) to participate in a 12-week laughter program. Body weight, subjective stress, subjective well-being, and HRQOL were measured at the baseline, with a 12-week follow-up. The laughter program intervention's effects on these factors were analyzed using an analysis of covariance adjusted by age, sex, risk factors, medication, and area. Furthermore, Pearson's correlation and a general linear model analyzed the relationship between participants' BMI and psychological index changes.
resultsThe comprehensive laughter program significantly improved the mean body weight (p = 0.008), BMI (p = 0.006), subjective stress (p = 0.004), subjective well-being (p = 0.002), optimism (p = 0.03), and physical component summary (PCS) scores of HRQOL (p = 0.04). A similar tendency occurred for the mean changes in BMI and subjective stress score by area, sex, and age. Moreover, there was a significant and negative correlation between the change in BMI and PCS change (p = 0.04).
conclusionThe comprehensive 12-week laughter intervention program, mainly comprising laughter yoga, significantly improved physical and psychological functions such as body weight, BMI, subjective stress, subjective well-being, and HRQOL among predominantly elderly Japanese community-dwelling individuals with metabolic syndrome risk factors. Moreover, PCS improved among participants who reduced BMI after the intervention. These results suggest that the laughter program may help reduce body weight in participants with metabolic syndrome risk factors by reducing stress and improving HRQOL and mental health factors, such as subjective well-being and optimism.
trial registrationRegistered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry UMIN-CTR000027145 on 27/04/2017.
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