Efficacy of Comedy on Health-Related Quality of Life and Oxidative Stress in Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer survivors have reduced health-related quality of life (HRQOL) due to impaired daily functioning. In addition, daily stress leads to worsening oxidative stress. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of laughter therapy on HRQOL and oxidative stress in cancer survivors.Methods: This before-and-after study asked cancer survivors to watch a 15-minute or longer comedy video over a four-week period to assess the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G), EuroQOL 5 dimension 3-level (EQ-5D-3L), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), biological Antioxidant Potential (BAP), Reactive Oxygen Metabolites-derived compounds (d-ROMs), Oxidative Stress Index (OSI), and the antioxidant/oxidative stress ratio.Results: The nonparametric Friedman test showed significant increases from baseline in FACT-G and EQ-VAS scores and significant decreases in HADS-Anxiety and HADS-Depression scores. Post hoc analyses showed that these items commonly differed significantly at baseline versus three and four weeks after Bonferroni correction. T-test results in the biological analysis revealed small and moderate effects with significant differences in BAP (p < 0.01, d = 0.49), OSI (p = 0.03, d = 0.33), and BAP/d-ROMs (p < 0.01, d = 0.51).Conclusion: These results suggest that daily comedy viewing may be an effective intervention to improve quality of life and antioxidant capacity in cancer survivors. Considering its safety, convenience, and low cost, it should be considered a high-value intervention for cancer survivors.

Effects of Comedy on the Health-Related Quality of Life of Cancer Survivors and Its Associations With the Big Five Personality Traits: A Post Hoc Analysis

“…The purpose of this study was to complement the analysis of a previous study [9] that investigated the effectiveness of four weeks of viewing comedy on HRQOL and oxidative stress in cancer survivors. The participants were divided into two groups -the FACT-G up group and the FACT-G down group -to determine whether personality traits or other characteristics influenced the effects of comedy.…”

“…000061635). Details of the study design and main results have been reported previously [9]. Eligibility criteria were written informed consent, male or female sex, age 20 years or older, cancer diagnosis, and cancer status cured or stable.…”

“…The primary endpoint of this post hoc analysis was a comparison of the results of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory-Japanese version (TIPI-J) items (i.e., Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, and Extraversion) [10] between the two groups: (1) the group with an increase in the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) score [11] and (2) the group with a decrease in the FACT-G score. This grouping was based on the results of previous studies [9].…”

“…Laughter therapy has several classifications, but no clear definition has been established [8]. The authors of the current paper have conducted a previous intervention study [9] using ceremony video viewing as laughter therapy and reported its effects on HRQOL and oxidative stress. However, this study did not show any associations with background factors that may improve HRQOL such as personality traits [9].…”

“…The authors of the current paper have conducted a previous intervention study [9] using ceremony video viewing as laughter therapy and reported its effects on HRQOL and oxidative stress. However, this study did not show any associations with background factors that may improve HRQOL such as personality traits [9]. There are no reports of personality traits affecting HRQOL improvement.…”