This is part three of a four-part series reviewing the evidence on how humor influences physiological and psychological well-being. The first article included basic background information, ...definitions and a review of the theoretical underpinnings for this area of research. The second article discussed use of humor as a complementary therapy within various clinical samples, as well as evidence concerning how a sense of humor influences physiological and psychological wellbeing. This third article examines how laughter influences health outcomes; including muscle tension, cardio-respiratory functioning and various stress physiology measures.
This is the final article in a four part series reviewing the influence of humor and laughter on physiological and psychological well-being. This final article reviews the evidence for the effect of ...sense of humor, exposure to a humor stimulus and laughter on various immune system components, with a focus on the effects of laughter on natural killer cell cytotoxicity.
Our results support a connection between sense of humor and self-reported physical health, however, it is difficult to determine the relationship to any specific disease process. Whereas ...relationships between sense of humor and self-reported measures of physical well-being appear to be supported, more research is required to determine interrelationships between sense of humor and well-being.
Articles in both the lay and professional literature have extolled the virtues of humor, many giving the impression that the health benefits of humor are well documented by the scientific and medical ...community. The concept that humor or laughter can be therapeutic goes back to biblical times and this belief has received varying levels of support from the scientific community at different points in its history. Current research indicates that using humor is well accepted by the public and is frequently used as a coping mechanism. However, the scientific evidence of the benefits of using humor on various health related outcomes still leaves many questions unanswered.
We aim to identify the potential risk factors associated with increased susceptibility for persistent post-concussive headaches.
Concussions are common, but complex, traumatic brain injuries seen in ...pediatric athletes of all ages & skill levels & occur in a wide variety of athletic settings. These mild traumatic brain injuries often have neurologic sequelae, including headaches. Although athletes are advised to rest, duration of post-concussive symptoms is often unpredictable.
We conducted a cross sectional study on patients with head injury aged 5-18 years presented to pediatric concussion clinic (N = 603) from September 2013 to Dec 2018. We excluded patients with skull fractures and intracranial hemorrhage. The data was compiled & analyzed using frequency, Pearson correlation test, chi square & ANOVA test using IBM SPSS- 26.
Patient cohort consisted of 364 males & 239 females. The age range for males was 5-18 years (Mean age ± SD: 13.45 ± 2.86) & for females was 6-18 years (Mean age ± SD: 13.97 ± 2.84). There was statically significant association between various age groups & presence of headache at 3 & 6 months (
< 0.05). Out of all ages, age group 5-8 years had highest risk of persistent headache while the age group 14-18 years reported headaches at 3 months but then resolution of symptoms by one year (
< 0.05). Females were more likely than males (of all ages) to have persistent headaches despite treatment (
= 0.00). There was also a statistically significant difference between loss of consciousness, prior history of headaches & prior history of concussions towards the development of persistent headaches (
< 0.05). Furthermore, football, soccer and basketball had significantly more headaches compared to other sports related injuries (
= 0.001).
There was a statistically higher risk of developing persistent headaches for females and those with a history of prior headache, prior concussion, younger age, and those playing football, soccer or basketball.
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