Effects of a laughter program on body weight and mental health among Japanese people with metabolic syndrome risk factors: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: While 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. METHODS: Overall, 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. RESULTS: The 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). CONCLUSION: The 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 REGISTRATION: Registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry UMIN-CTR000027145 on 27/04/2017.

Obesity and mental health improvement following nutritional education focusing on gut microbiota composition in Japanese women: a randomised controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Gut microbiota composition was supposedly related to obesity and psychological factors. We examined the effects of a nutritional education intervention focusing on gut microbiota composition on obesity and psychological factors among obese women. METHODS: Forty-four obese Japanese women aged 40 or older were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n = 22) or control group (n = 22). The intervention consisted of a 20-min dietary lecture and a 10-min counselling session by registered dieticians, every 2 weeks for eight consecutive weeks. Body weight, height, waist circumference, food frequency, and gut microbiota composition were measured, and self-rated health and psychological factors were scored before and after the intervention. RESULTS: All participants completed the 8 week program. After the intervention, dietary fibre intake (p < 0.01), frequency of vegetable consumption (p = 0.020), and frequency of milk and milk product consumption (p < 0.01) increased significantly in the intervention group compared with the control group. Body weight and body mass index (BMI; p < 0.001), waist circumference (p < 0.01), and the depression scale score (p < 0.01) decreased significantly, while significant improvements were found in self-rated health (p = 0.045) and microbiome diversity (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Nutritional education focusing on gut microbiota composition may improve obesity and psychological factors in obese women.

Differences in walking and running parameters in elementary school students with and without backpacks.

BACKGROUND: Backpack syndrome (BS) is a term used to describe symptoms such as shoulder and back pain that are believed to be caused by carrying a backpack. Few studies have investigated the changes in walking and running parameters with and without backpacks. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate the differences in walking and running parameters with and without backpacks in primary school children with and without BS. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 51 children (average age 9.3 years, 6- 12 years). Two questions were asked beforehand: whether the respondents had shoulder or back pain when going to school and present; those who answered that they had pain in both cases were defined as the BS group, while the others were the control group. Walking and running at comfortable speeds and walking and running with a 6 kg backpack on their backs were measured. RESULTS: During walking, there were main effects for speed, cadence, and strike angle with and without the backpack, but no interactions were identified for any of the parameters. In running, however, there were main effects for speed, stride length, strike angle, and lift-off angle, and an interaction effect was observed for speed and stride length. CONCLUSIONS: During walking, carrying a 6 kg backpack increased cadence and walking speed. During running, carrying a backpack caused a decrease in stride length and running speed in the BS group, whereas there was no change in the control group, suggesting that the control and BS groups may respond differently.

Coexistence of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain and Depressive Symptoms and Their Combined and Individual Effects on Onset of Disability in Older Adults: A Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: Coexistence of chronic musculoskeletal pain and depressive symptoms is common, and their combined effect on adverse events warrants investigation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the individual and combined effect of chronic musculoskeletal pain and depressive symptoms on the onset of disability, which is a crucial outcome in older adults. DESIGN: A 1-year cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: 1251 community-dwelling older adults. MEASUREMENTS: The number of chronic musculoskeletal pain sites was measured using a self-reported questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale-15. Disability was self-reported as any difficulty in basic activities of daily living. Incidence of disability was defined as any difficulty in performing 1 or more tasks at the follow-up assessment, that was absent at baseline. RESULTS: Older adults with more chronic musculoskeletal pain sites tend to have depressive symptoms at baseline (P for trend < .001). Compared to older adults without both chronic musculoskeletal pain and depressive symptoms, older adults with both chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain and depressive symptoms have the higher risk for development of disability (adjusted odds ratio: 6.84, 95% confidence interval: 3.72 to 12.58), followed by older adults with chronic multisite musculoskeletal pain and without depressive symptoms (adjusted odds ratio: 2.13, 95% confidence interval: 1.35 to 3.37). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Simultaneous assessment of both chronic musculoskeletal pain and depressive symptoms may be useful for accurate prognosis and preventing disability in older adults.

Therapeutic efficacy of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy versus exercise therapy in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a prospective study.

Therapy for chronic, nonspecific low back pain is mainly conservative: medication and/or exercise.　Pharmacotherapy, however, has side effects, and the quantities of concomitant drugs in older persons require attention.　Although exercise promises improved function, its use to alleviate pain is controversial.　Thus, we compared the efficacy of pharmacotherapy versus exercise for treating chronic nonspecific low back pain.　The pharmacotherapy group (n=18: 8 men, 10 women) were prescribed celecoxib monotherapy.　The exercise group (n=22: 10 men, 12 women) undertook stretching exercises.　Because of drop-outs, the NSAID group (n=15: 7 men, 8 women) and the exercise group (n =18: 8 men, 10 women) were finally analyzed.　We applied a visual analog scale, Roland-Morris disability scores, and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey.　We used a paired t-test for within-group analyses and an unpaired t-test for between-group analyses.　Pain relief was achieved after 3 months of pharmacotherapy or exercise.　Quality of life improved only in the exercise group.　Recovery outcomes for the two groups were not significantly different.　Efficacy of exercise therapy for strictly defined low back pain was almost equivalent to that of pharmacotherapy and provided better quality of life.

How does surgery affect sexual desire and activities in patients with lumbar disc herniation?

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective survey using privacy-conscious questionnaires. OBJECTIVE: To determine the quality and frequency of sexual activities in patients with lumbar disc herniation before and after surgery. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Patients and health care professionals often hesitate to talk about the effects of disease, illness, or surgery on sexuality, but it is imperative that sexuality issues be addressed. METHODS: Of 90 consecutive patients, 64 who had surgically-treated lumbar disc herniation participated in this survey after informed consent. There were 43 males and 21 females with mean age of 36 years. Duration of symptom was averaged 42 weeks. The patients were asked to complete questionnaires concerning sexual desire, activity, adjustment, and satisfaction. About 83% of the patients had sexual desire, and 89% achieved satisfaction during sexual activities in presick period. RESULTS: Lumbar disc herniation decreased sexual desire in 50% and frequency of sexual activity in 59% of the patients. About 67% of males and 81% of females felt discomfort during sexual activity; satisfaction decreased in 28% of male and 41% of females. Adjustment in sexual position was required in 54% of males and 86% of females. Surgery improved sexual desire, frequency of sexual activity, and satisfaction in 85%, 88%, and 94%, respectively. However, 31% of females did not regain sexual desire and 46% still felt discomfort during sexual activity (the rates were 7% and 17% in males, respectively). Sexual activity was resumed within 2 postoperative weeks in 23% (27% in males and 14% in females), and 4 weeks in 53%. Males resumed sexual activity earlier than females. CONCLUSION: Lumbar disc herniation largely impacted sexual desire, activity, and satisfaction. Adjustment in sexual position was required in large number of patients to avoid discomfort during sexual activities. Surgical treatment improved quality of sexual activities, but more females did not regain sexual desire, felt sexual discomfort, and thereby resumed sexual activities later than males after surgery.