Laughter yoga as an enjoyable therapeutic approach for glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

Background:

Laughter has been reported to have various health benefits. However, data on the long-term effects of laughter interventions on diabetes are limited. This study aimed to investigate whether laughter yoga can improve glycemic control among individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Methods:

In a single-center, randomized controlled trial, 42 participants with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to either the intervention or the control group. The intervention consisted of a 12-week laughter yoga program. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), body weight, waist circumference, psychological factors, and sleep duration were evaluated at baseline and week 12.

Results:

Intention-to-treat analysis showed that participants in the laughter yoga group experienced significant improvements in HbA1c levels (between-group difference: -0.31%; 95% CI -0.54, -0.09) and positive affect scores (between-group difference: 0.62 points; 95% CI 0.003, 1.23). Sleep duration tended to increase in the laughter yoga group with a between-group difference of 0.4 hours (95% CI -0.05, 0.86; P = 0.080). The mean attendance rate for laughter yoga program was high (92.9%).

Conclusions:

A 12-week laughter yoga program is feasible for individuals with type 2 diabetes and improves glycemic control. These findings suggest that having fun could be a self-care intervention. Further studies with larger numbers of participants are warranted to better evaluate the effects of laughter yoga.

Clinical trial registration:

http://www.chinadrugtrials.org.cn, identifier UMIN000047164.

• Authors: Mayumi Hirosaki, Tetsuya Ohira, Yawei Wu, Eri Eguchi, Kokoro Shirai, Hironori Imano, Narumi Funakubo, Hitoshi Nishizawa, Naoto Katakami, Iichiro Shimomura, Hiroyasu Iso
• Journal: Frontiers in endocrinology (Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)) Vol. 14 Pg. 1148468 ( 2023) ISSN: 1664-2392 [Print] Switzerland
• PMID: 37065750 (Publication Type: Randomized Controlled Trial, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2023 Hirosaki, Ohira, Wu, Eguchi, Shirai, Imano, Funakubo, Nishizawa, Katakami, Shimomura and Iso.

Chemical References

• Glycated Hemoglobin

Topics

• Humans
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 (therapy)
• Laughter Therapy
• Glycated Hemoglobin
• Glycemic Control
• Body Weight