Association between Laughter and Lifestyle Diseases after the Great East Japan Earthquake: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

Eri Eguchi,Tetsuya Ohira,Mayumi Harigane,Kenji Kamiya,Atsushi Takahashi,Fumikazu Hayashi,Kanae Takase,Narumi Funakubo,Hirooki Yabe,Masaharu Maeda,Seiji Yasumura,Kanako Okazaki,Hironori Nakano

doi:10.3390/ijerph182312699

Abstract

We investigated the association between the frequency of laughter and lifestyle diseases after the Great East Japan Earthquake. We included 41,432 participants aged 30–89 years in the Fukushima Health Management Survey in fiscal year 2012 and 2013. Gender-specific, age-adjusted and multivariable odds ratios of lifestyle diseases were calculated using logistic regressions stratified by evacuation status. Those who laugh every day had significantly lower multivariable odds ratios for hypertension (HT), diabetes mellitus (DM) and heart disease (HD) for men, and HT and dyslipidemia (DL) for women compared to those who do not, especially in male evacuees. The multivariable odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of HT, DM and HD (non-evacuees vs. evacuees) for men were 1.00 (0.89–1.11) vs. 0.85 (0.74–0.96), 0.90 (0.77–1.05) vs. 0.77 (0.64–0.91) and 0.92 (0.76–1.11) vs. 0.79 (0.63–0.99), and HT and DL for women were 0.90 (0.81–1.00) vs. 0.88 (0.78–0.99) and 0.80 (0.70–0.92) vs. 0.72 (0.62–0.83), respectively. The daily frequency of laughter was associated with a lower prevalence of lifestyle disease, especially in evacuees.

Highlights

Introduction conditions of the Creative CommonsScholars have recently reported the health benefits of daily laughter
Among the 41,432 individuals, 6383 (34.6%) men and 6286 (27.3%) women reported hypertension, 2410 (13.1%) men and 1567 (6.8%) women for diabetes mellitus, 2604 (13.1%)
*a : Multivariable adjustment of age, body mass index, smoking status, drinking status, habitual physical activity, quality of sleep, mental health distress, job status and connection with others. *b : Multivariable adjustment of history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia in addition to *a. Those who experienced evacuation had a lower prevalence of those who laugh daily. Compared to those who do not laugh every day, those who laugh every day had a lower prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and heart disease after the

Summary

Introduction

Scholars have recently reported the health benefits of daily laughter. Previous studies have shown that laughter is associated with a lower prevalence of cardiovascular disease [1] and may decrease the risk of such diseases [2].

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion