Effects of humor therapy on negative emotions, quality of life and cognitive function in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To systematically review the intervention effects of humor therapy on older adults.

Methods: We searched Chinese and English databases for studies on humor therapy interventions for older adults and performed meta-analysis using stata 15 software.

Results: A total of 9 randomized controlled trials and 4 quasi-experimental studies, with a pooled sample of 984 participants, met our inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed that humor therapy significantly improved depression (SMD = -0.66, 95 %CI:-0.95 to -0.36, p < 0.001), loneliness (SMD = -1.52, 95 % CI:2.66 to -0.39, p = 0.008), quality of life (SMD = 0.42, 95 %CI: 0.23 to 0.62, p < 0.001) in older adults. Qualitative analysis revealed significant effects of humor therapy on happiness, stress, and brief resilience, but non-significant effects on cognitive functioning in older adults.

Conclusions: Humor therapy can reduce depression and loneliness and improve quality of life in older adults, but current evidence does not support humor therapy as an effective intervention to improve cognitive functioning in older adults. Need for further studies to confirm these findings and investigate potential mechanisms.