Longitudinal Trends in Blood Pressure Associated With the Frequency of Laughter: The Circulatory Risk in Communities Study (CIRCS), a Longitudinal Study of the Japanese General Population.

Satomi Ikeda,Sachimi Kubo,Mizuki Sata,Kazumasa Yamagishi,Mitsumasa Umesawa,Chika Okada,Ai Ikeda,Miyuki Hori,Tetsuya Ohira,Masahiko Kiyama,Akihiko Kitamura,Hiroyasu Iso,Tomoko Sankai,Takeshi Tanigawa

doi:10.2188/jea.je20190140

Abstract

BackgroundThe frequency of laughter has been associated with cardiovascular disease and related biomarkers, but no previous studies have examined association between laughter and changes in blood pressure levels. We sought to identify temporal relationships between frequency of laughter in daily life and systolic and diastolic blood pressure changes in participants from 2010 through 2014.MethodsParticipants were 554 men and 887 women aged 40–74 years who answered self-administered questionnaire quantifying frequency of laughter at baseline. We measured participant blood pressure levels twice using automated sphygmomanometers for each year from 2010 to 2014. The associations between laughter and changes in blood pressure over time were analyzed using linear mixed-effect models.ResultsThere was no significant difference in blood pressure according to frequency of laughter at baseline in either sex. Men with frequency of laughter 1 to 3 per month or almost never had significantly increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels over the 4-year period (time-dependent difference: 0.96 mm Hg (95% confidence interval [CI], −0.2 to 1.8; P = 0.05). Changes in blood pressure associated with infrequent laughter (ie, 1 to 3 per month or almost never) were evident in men without antihypertensive medication use over 4 years (0.94 mm Hg; 95% CI, −0.2 to 2.0; P = 0.09) and men who were current drinkers at baseline (1.29 mm Hg; 95% CI, −0.1 to 2.3; P = 0.04). No significant difference was found between frequency of laughter and systolic (0.23 mm Hg; 95% CI, −1.0 to 1.5; P = 0.72) and diastolic (−0.07 mm Hg; 95% CI, −0.8 to 0.7; P = 0.86) blood pressure changes in women.ConclusionsInfrequent laughter was associated with long-term blood pressure increment among middle-aged men.

Highlights

The proverb “laughter is the best medicine” has an element of truth, as laughter has been shown to relieve stress and positively impact mental stability
If the beneficial impact of laughter on blood pressure levels is confirmed, psychological interventions to increase the frequency of laughter may contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In this longitudinal study, we examined the effect of laughter on blood pressure levels in the general population
There was no significant difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressures according to the frequency of laughter at the baseline in either sex

Summary

Introduction

The proverb “laughter is the best medicine” has an element of truth, as laughter has been shown to relieve stress and positively impact mental stability. In 1976, Norman Cousins, a sufferer of ankylosing spondylitis, made the joyous discovery that 10 minutes of genuine belly laughter allowed him to sleep without pain for at least 2 hours He subsequently adopted laughter as a treatment for his disease.[1] The results of his blood test showed an improved erythrocyte sedimentation rate, suggesting that laughter removed pain and had a positive impact on biomarkers.[1] These findings have stimulated researchers to conduct intervention studies, which have shown that laughter improved symptoms of depression,[2] insomnia,[3] and natural killer cell activity,[4,5,6] as well as reduction in HbA1c.7. We sought to identify temporal relationships between frequency of laughter in daily life and systolic and diastolic blood pressure changes in participants from 2010 through 2014

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