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. 2024 Apr 27;16(4):e59163.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.59163. eCollection 2024 Apr.

Efficacy and Safety of Laughter Yoga in Cancer Patients: A Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Selvaraj Giridharan  1 , Jawaher Ansari  2
Affiliations

Efficacy and Safety of Laughter Yoga in Cancer Patients: A Scoping Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Selvaraj Giridharan et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

The use of laughter yoga as a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) strategy has recently gained interest as a potential supportive intervention for cancer patients. In this review, we aimed to assess the impact of laughter yoga on the quality of life of cancer patients, with a focus on evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Our analysis indicates that laughter yoga can significantly improve the quality of life of cancer patients by improving emotional and physical functioning and reducing symptoms of depression and stress. These findings suggest that laughter yoga is a promising CAM practice for enhancing cancer patients' psychological and physical health. Future research should aim to extend these studies to more extensive and more diverse populations to validate and expand upon these findings.

Keywords: cancer care; complementary and alternative medicine (cam); health-related quality of life (hrqol); laughter yoga; review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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