Social Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour as Key Determinants of Humour Expression and Loneliness in Older Adults: A Cross-sectional Study Using Bayesian Variable Selection Approach

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Physical activity can potentially enhance social cognitive function. This study focused on humour as an important facilitator of social interaction and examined how physical activity was associated with humour expression and loneliness. Methods This study included 5,213 Japanese older adults. We examined the associations between physical activity patterns (past and present exercise experiences, physical activity levels, sedentary behaviour), humour-related outcomes (humour styles and humour coping styles), and feelings of loneliness. All the measures were self-reported. We applied Bayesian sparse regression modelling and structural equation modelling (BSEM) to analyse these large sample datasets. Results Bayesian sparse regression models revealed that past and present sport/exercise experience with friends were associated with positive humour expressions. In contrast, sedentary behaviour was associated with a lower overall propensity for humour expression. BSEM indicated that exercise experiences with friends was associated with reduced feelings of loneliness, partially mediated by the utilisation of positive humour expressions. Conclusion These findings suggest the novel role of social physical activity in reducing loneliness among older adults through positive humour expression. Furthermore, reducing sedentary behaviours is important for maintaining humour expression. humour style humour coping style sparse regression horseshoe priors Bayesian Structural Equation Model Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Introduction Loneliness in older adults is a growing concern worldwide [ 1 ], with an increasing number of lonely adults aged 50 years and older [ 2 ]. Furthermore, social isolation accelerates cognitive decline and deteriorates mental health via multiple pathways, including behavioural, psychological, and biological mechanisms [ 3 ]. Hence, early intervention and prevention strategies are important to break this negative spiral and maintain social engagement in older adults. This study focused on physical activity and sedentary behaviour as potential factors for alleviating loneliness. Furthermore, we examined humour as a related factor that could facilitate social interactions. Humour, a complex, multidimensional personality construct, is expressed through various interpersonal and intrapsychic mechanisms that either facilitate social cohesion and psychological resilience or potentially undermine relational dynamics and mental well-being based on its mode of implementation [ 4 ]. In fact, humour plays a multifaceted role in our daily lives; it helps build and maintain social relationships and also serves as a coping mechanism for life's challenges, reduces psychological stress, and enhances emotional well-being and cognitive health [ 5 – 7 ]. Considering these beneficial effects on social and psychological well-being, further attention should be paid to humour as a potential pathway for promoting social participation and reducing loneliness among older adults. Recent findings have suggested that adaptive humour styles, particularly affiliative and self-enhancing styles, are associated with lower levels of loneliness [ 8 ]. Humour ability is associated with executive function, which encompasses top-down mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, and remember instructions. It includes three core functions, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility [ 9 ], that gradually decrease with age [ 10 ]. Specifically, working memory is associated with a joke’s context and its interpretations, whereas cognitive flexibility is related to multiple visual elements to identify humourous features [ 11 ]. A study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that humour processing involves distinct neural networks, including the frontal cortex, and specifically the medial ventral prefrontal cortex [ 12 ]. Considering that the frontal brain regions also play a crucial role in executive function [ 13 ], humour processing and executive function may potentially share common neural substrates. Since physical activity is associated with frontal cortex activation, which supports executive function [ 14 ], physical activity may foster humour ability through enhanced executive function. Consistent with this, Ludyga et al. [ 15 ] suggested that specific nervous system functions and oxytocin, which evolved to cope with increasingly complex social systems, played crucial roles in social cognition and were potentially sensitive to physical activity. Moreover, team and partner sports were more strongly associated with cognitive benefits compared with individual activities, which suggested that a physical activity’s social context was important for cognitive improvement [ 16 ]. In contrast to physical activity, sedentary behaviour in older adults was a risk factor for cognitive decline and associated with executive dysfunction [ 17 ]. Hence, physical activity and sedentary behaviour were associated with loneliness through humour expressions. Therefore, this study examined the associations between physical activity levels, sedentary behaviour, humour ability (humour styles and humour coping), and loneliness in older adults. Specifically, we investigated how physical activity and sedentary behaviour were associated with humour ability, and whether these relationships were associated with feelings of loneliness. To address these research questions, we conducted a large-scale cross-sectional study to identify the key factors of physical activity and sedentary behaviour that were associated with humour ability and loneliness. We hypothesised that physical activity, particularly social physical activities, such as exercise/sports participation with friends, would be associated with higher humour ability and reduced loneliness. Conversely, sedentary behaviours would have adverse associations with these outcomes. Understanding these relationships can provide valuable insights for the development of further effective interventions to prevent social isolation and promote mental health in aging societies. Lastly, traditional statistical approaches often struggle with complex relationships among multiple variables, which can potentially lead to spurious associations or overlooking important patterns in health behaviour research., Hence, we employed Bayesian sparse regression and structural equation modelling (BSEM). This approach provides a further robust analytical framework by incorporating prior knowledge and effectively managing multiple comparisons while quantifying the uncertainty in both variable selection and parameter estimates. Methods Participants and procedures Data utilized a web-based cross-sectional survey, administered via Google Forms in November 2024, to obtain data from members of an online research company, Cross Marketing Inc. Participants were compensated with reward points. All participants read a comprehensive explanation of the study procedures and provided electronic informed consent. Among 5,287 eligible participants, we excluded eight and 66 who did not specify their gender to examine gender-specific effects and were outside the specified age range (65–84 years), respectively. The final analytical sample comprised 5,213 participants (2,605 females and 2,608 males). This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Medicine at Tohoku University. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Measures We focused on 11 key variables: demographic characteristics (age and gender), sports and exercise history (past and current activities, age of initiation, duration of participation), physical activity levels, assessed via the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ); humour-related measures, which included the Humour Styles Scale [ 18 ] and Humour Coping Scale [ 19 ], and the Japanese version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale [ 20 ]. Details of questionnaire are described in Supplementary Materials 1–2. Table 1 presents the variables used in this study. Table 1 Description of Variables Used in Bayesian Variable Selection Model Variables Explanation Age Age Start_age Starting Age of Present Sports Activities Sport_years Years of Present Sports/Exercise Participation work_high_MET High-intensity METs at work work_moderate_MET Moderate-intensity METs at work work_METs Total work-related physical activity METs transportation_METs Transportation-related physical activity METs leisure_high_MET High-intensity leisure-time physical activity METs leisure_moderate_MET Moderate-intensity leisure-time physical activity METs leisure_METs Total leisure-time physical activity METs Total_METs Total physical activity METs across all domains sedentary Daily sedentary time (minutes spent sitting) Sex Female or Male (Sex was coded as 0 = female, 1 = male for analysis) Past_ex_friends Past exercise/sports participation with friends Past_ex_alone Past solitary exercise/sports participation Present_ex_friends Present exercise/sports participation with friends Present_ex_alone Present solitary exercise/sports participation Physical activity levels were assessed via a modified web-based version of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire Version 2 (GPAQ ver.2; [ 21 ]). The web-adapted version maintained the core components of the original GPAQ, and provided structured response options more suitable for online administration. The primary outcomes assessed comprised physical activity, quantified via the Metabolic Equivalent of Task [METs] values for various activities, and sedentary behaviour durations. Humour styles were assessed via the Japanese version of the Humour Styles Questionnaire (HSQ; [ 18 ]). It comprised 32 items that measured four humour styles: affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humour. To reduce the response burden on older participants, we modified the original 7-point scale to a 4-point scale: 1 (does not apply to me at all), 2 (somewhat does not apply to me), 3 (somewhat applies to me), and 4 (applies to me completely). Total scores ranged from 0–32 points for each subscale, and higher scores reflected a greater propensity toward the respective humour style. The Humour Coping Questionnaire (HCQ; [ 19 ]) was used to assess participants' use of humour as a coping strategy. It comprised 24 items that measured four styles of humour coping: self-enhancing, cooperative, aggressive, and self-joking humour coping. To reduce the response burden on older participants, we modified the original 6-point scale into a 4-point scale: 1 (does not apply to me at all), 2 (somewhat does not apply to me), 3 (somewhat applies to me), and 4 (applies to me completely). Total scores ranged from 0–24 points for each subscale, and higher scores indicated greater engagement in that specific humour coping style. Loneliness was assessed via the Japanese version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 (UCLA LS3; [ 20 ]). This 20-item scale measured loneliness as a unidimensional construct. Items assessed subjective feelings of social isolation and dissatisfaction with social relationships. Each item was rated on a 4-point scale: 1 (never), 2 (rarely), 3 (sometimes), and 4 (always). Total scores ranges from 20–80 points, and higher scores indicated greater levels of perceived loneliness. Statistical analyses Demographic variables (age and gender), current ongoing sports and exercise characteristics (age of initiation and duration of participation), physical activity measures (METs for various activities), sedentary duration, and both past and present exercise patterns (individual, team, contact sports, exercise with friends, solitary exercise) were treated as explanatory variables. Conversely, humour-related factors (Humour Styles and Humour Coping scales) and feeling of loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale) served as outcome variables. Table 1 presents a description of the variables used in the Bayesian variable selection model. To investigate the relationships between these explanatory and outcome variables, we employed Bayesian sparse regression, which allowed for the identification of significant predictors, managed multicollinearity, and enhanced model interpretability. Statistical analyses were performed using Python version 3.12.0. Data pre-processing was conducted via Pandas (version 2.2.3), Polars (version 1.17.1), and NumPyro (version 0.15.3). Details of the Bayesian variable selection are described in Supplementary Materials 3. Furthermore, to identify the key predictors of loneliness, Bayesian variable selection was conducted, and considered physical activity, sitting time, and humour expression as potential predictors. Subsequently, variables with a high inclusion probability (IP) were examined related to loneliness via the BSEM. BSEM analysis was implemented via the lavaan package (version 0.5.6) in R (version 4.4.1). It was performed using the bsem function with the following specifications: Regression coefficients (β): Normal distribution with mean = 0 and standard deviation = 5, Factor loadings (λ): Normal distribution with mean = 0 and standard deviation = 5, and Residual variances (ψ): Gamma distribution with shape = 1 and rate = 1. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation was conducted via four parallel chains. For each chain, 45,000 iterations were run, with the first 15,000 iterations discarded as burn-in, which resulted in 30,000 post-burn-in samples for inference. This sampling strategy ensured adequate convergence and stable parameter estimates and minimised autocorrelation in the posterior distributions. Results Although most parameters in each model demonstrated good convergence (R-hat < 1.1), convergence issues were detected for some regression coefficients across the different humour and coping styles. Details of the convergence diagnostics are described in Supplementary Materials 4. Humour styles Table 2 and Fig. 1 present the results. Results revealed that both past and present exercise/sports participation with friends and past solitary exercise/sports participation were associated with greater affiliative humour. Furthermore, they were associated with greater self-enhancing humour. In contrast, both past and present exercise/sports participation with friends were also associated with less aggressive humour. Sedentary behaviour was associated with a lower expression of all humour styles. Table 2 Associations Between Physical Activity Patterns and Humour Styles: A Bayesian Analysis with Variable Selection (Inclusion Probability > 0.5) Variables Affiliative Humour Self-defeating Humour Self-enhancing Humour Aggressive Humour Age 0.501 0.733 Start_age 0.730 Sport_years 0.675 0.618 work_high_MET work_moderate_MET 0.610 work_METs transportation_METs 0.697 0.534 leisure_high_MET leisure_moderate_MET leisure_METs Total_METs sedentary 0.752 0.852 0.709 0.803 Sex 0.883 0.884 0.917 Past_ex_friends 0.809 0.671 0.776 Past_ex_alone 0.756 0.684 Present_ex_friends 0.787 Present_ex_alone 0.774 0.766 Humour coping styles Table 3 and Fig. 2 present the results. Results revealed that past exercise or sports participation with friends was associated with greater self-enhancing, cooperative, and self-mocking humour coping. In contrast, it was also associated with less aggressive humour coping. Sedentary behaviour was associated with a lower expression of all humour coping styles. Table 3 Associations Between Physical Activity Behaviors and Humour Coping Styles: A Bayesian Analysis with Variable Selection (Inclusion Probability > 0.5) Variables Self-enhancing Coping Cooperative Coping Aggressive Coping Self-mocking Coping Age 0.716 0.579 Start_age 0.715 Sport_years 0.740 0.761 work_high_MET work_moderate_MET 0.542 work_METs 0.516 transportation_METs 0.756 0.790 0.560 leisure_high_MET leisure_moderate_MET leisure_METs Total_METs sedentary 0.752 0.859 0.885 0.757 Sex 0.764 0.946 0.674 Past_ex_friends 0.826 0.904 0.682 0.851 Past_ex_alone 0.577 Present_ex_friends Present_ex_alone Gender difference As shown in Tables 2 and 3 and Figs. 1 and 2, gender was identified as the strongest predictor of several humour styles and humour coping styles. Accordingly, we conducted the same analyses separately for each gender to examine whether the observed associations between the explanatory and humour-related variables differed by gender. Supplementary Tables 1–4 and Supplementary Figs. 1–4 illustrate the inclusion probability and 95% credible intervals. Results indicated that the overall trends were similar across both genders. Loneliness Supplementary Table 5 and Supplementary Fig. 5 present the inclusion probabilities and 95% confidence intervals. Bayesian variable selection detected stronger predictors, such as affiliative humour, self-defeating humour, self-enhancing humour coping, aggressive humour coping, and both past and present exercise/sports participation with friends. We used the predictive variables for loneliness and conducted a BSEM. Results indicated that past and present exercise experiences with friends were associated with reduced loneliness through two pathways: one demonstrated direct effects and another suggested partial mediation via the utilisation of positive humour expressions (i.e. affiliative humour and self-enhancing humour coping). In contrast, an indirect pathway associated with greater loneliness was observed for past exercise experiences with friends through self-deprecating humour (Supplementary Tables 6 and 7). Hence, affiliative humour and self-enhancing humour coping were categorised as positive humour expressions, while self-defeating humour and aggressive humour coping were classified as negative humour expressions. Figure 3 illustrates these pathways. Discussion Results of the Bayesian sparse regression models suggested that social physical activity (i.e. exercise/sports participation with friends) in older adults was related to greater positive humour expression. Furthermore, results of the BSEM indicated that social physical activities were related to lower feelings of loneliness, which were partially mediated by the utilisation of positive humour expressions. The observed positive associations between humour abilities, exercise/sports participation with friends, and feelings of loneliness underscored the importance of the type and social context of physical activity in shaping humour styles, which highlighted its potential as a tool for reducing loneliness. Physical activity with social interaction had potentially beneficial effects on reducing loneliness. [ 22 ]. Community-based exercise programs that combined physical activity with social interaction alleviated loneliness [ 23 ]. Furthermore, engaging in socially interactive physical activity could potentially enhance humour abilities through two pathways: prefrontal cortical activation from exercise physiologically improved humour processing, while sports/exercise experiences with friends naturally encouraged the use of humour to overcome challenges and building relationships, which effectively fortified humour expression. Conversely, our findings implied that sedentary behaviour significantly impaired humour expression. Considering previous findings that physical inactivity was associated with lower social interaction [ 24 ], sedentary activities that lack social interaction may lead to decreased social cognitive abilities, such as humour expression. Our analysis revealed that gender was associated with all measured outcomes: humour style and humour coping style. This robust pattern of gender-differences aligned with results from previous research on social cognition and physical activity [ 25 – 29 ]. However, no significant difference was observed between female and male regarding the relationship between physical activity and humour expression. Therefore, exercise/sports participation with friends promoted humour expression, which was critical to mitigate feelings of loneliness in older adults’ populations. Conversely, socially isolating sedentary behaviours may work in the opposite direction and potentially undermine the benefits of social physical activities. This study highlights the associations between social physical activities and sedentary behaviour with humour expression and loneliness among older adults. The strength of this study lies in its large sample size, which provides robust statistical power for detecting meaningful associations, and allows for more precise parameter estimates via Bayesian variable selection methods. However, this study had several limitations. First, since this was a cross-sectional study, causal interpretations cannot be drawn from our findings. Longitudinal studies should establish the causal relationship between physical activity patterns, sedentary behaviour, and humour utilisation in older adults. Second, the self-reported assessment limits our ability to objectively measure humour style. Although previous research employed empirical measures of social cognition, such as prosocial behaviour [ 30 ], objective measurement methods of humour should be developed and investigated. Finally, although our findings indicated that sedentary behaviour was related to lower engagement in humour expression, this study did not investigate social interactions during sedentary time. Future research should distinguish between socially engaged sedentary activities (e.g. conversations with family or friends) and solitary sedentary behaviours, as these may differentially affect humour expression and loneliness. In conclusion, this study highlights the associations between social physical activity, and sedentary behaviour on humour abilities and feeling of loneliness in older adults. Our findings suggest that engagement in social physical activity is associated with enhanced positive humour expressions, which contributed to reduced feelings of loneliness. This pathway indicates a potential mechanism through which social physical activity may mitigate loneliness via the mediating role of positive humour expression. Furthermore, our findings emphasize the importance of reducing sedentary time to enhance humour abilities. Social physical activity promotion and sedentary behaviour reduction incorporating humour-related elements could be a promising approach toward preventing social isolation in older adults. Abbreviations BSEM Bayesian sparse regression and structural equation modelling GPAQ Global Physical Activity Questionnaire METs Metabolic Equivalent of Task HSQ Humour Styles Questionnaire HCQ Humour Coping Questionnaire Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Medicine at Tohoku University. All participants read a comprehensive explanation of the study procedures and provided electronic informed consent before participation. Consent for publication Not applicable. This manuscript does not contain data from any individual person that would require consent for publication. Availability of data and materials The datasets of the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Funding This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Startup (24K23707). Conflicts of Interest The authors have no competing interests to declare. Authors' contributions Conceptualization and supervision: K.S., K.K. and Y.T. Methodology, data collection, and analysis: K.S and K.K. Writing draft: K.S, T.K., K.K. Draft Revision: K.S., A.U., T.K., K.K., Y.T. All authors have read and approved the manuscript. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Editage (www.editage.jp) for the English language editing services. We also express our gratitude to Nospare Inc. (www.no-spare.com), whose statistical modelling seminars provided valuable inspiration for the analytical approach used in this study. We would like to thank Cross Marketing Inc. (www.cross-m.co.jp) for their assistance with data collection. Finally, we express our sincere gratitude to all the participants who participated in this study. References Surkalim DL, Luo M, Eres R, et al. The prevalence of loneliness across 113 countries: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2022;376:e067068. 10.1136/bmj-2021-067068 . Newmyer L, Verdery AM, Wang H, et al. Population aging, demographic metabolism, and the rising tide of late middle age to older adult loneliness around the world. Popul Dev Rev. 2022;48:829–62. 10.1111/padr.12506 . Donovan NJ, Blazer D. Social Isolation and loneliness in Older Adults: Review and commentary of a National Academies report. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2020;28:1233–44. 10.1016/j.jagp.2020.08.005 . Martin RA, Puhlik-Doris P, Larsen G, et al. 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Supplementary Files SupplementalFiguresubmitBMCPublic.pdf SupplimentaltablesubmitBMCPublic.docx supplimentalmaterialssubmitBMCPublic.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 07 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in BMC Public Health → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 01 Dec, 2025 Reviews received at journal 29 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 27 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 17 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 02 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 18 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 16 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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04:23:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7135619/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7135619/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-26232-8","type":"published","date":"2026-02-07T15:57:57+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":87459481,"identity":"ffc65ff8-73e8-46c5-bdde-619549365f95","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-24 05:37:35","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":608165,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSee image above for figure legend.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Fig1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7135619/v1/d25cf7c5185bc4d0bb674a8e.png"},{"id":87459480,"identity":"e7400fc8-8242-4ce2-8a45-fbd0fcb2a073","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-24 05:37:35","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":300869,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSee image above for figure legend.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Fig2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7135619/v1/84ae3d08f900dffe7541b254.png"},{"id":87459484,"identity":"39237309-790f-4d65-aead-b8752959a5fd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-24 05:37:36","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":142501,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSee image above for figure legend.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Fig3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7135619/v1/614c42a69dd08b2aa54fffd1.png"},{"id":102234409,"identity":"f6a3e6cb-48bb-46de-87cd-0cabe3421693","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-09 16:11:30","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1609534,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7135619/v1/f6f508ae-7851-4097-ab7a-dc4e3732e714.pdf"},{"id":87459490,"identity":"7ba36cfa-49eb-4e1d-adb6-42abba9ea553","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-24 05:37:36","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1336894,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementalFiguresubmitBMCPublic.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7135619/v1/52a90ed6efd7b1e188804298.pdf"},{"id":87459482,"identity":"692592f4-8f01-4fb7-9a94-9cd769500132","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-24 05:37:36","extension":"docx","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":29334,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplimentaltablesubmitBMCPublic.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7135619/v1/9e49fce6f9ab4045d36928ef.docx"},{"id":87459487,"identity":"3326f224-2370-4f84-8828-db666141bfc7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-24 05:37:36","extension":"pdf","order_by":3,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":105563,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"supplimentalmaterialssubmitBMCPublic.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7135619/v1/40fc177d04030f0629f29c1a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Social Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour as Key Determinants of Humour Expression and Loneliness in Older Adults: A Cross-sectional Study Using Bayesian Variable Selection Approach","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eLoneliness in older adults is a growing concern worldwide [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e], with an increasing number of lonely adults aged 50 years and older [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, social isolation accelerates cognitive decline and deteriorates mental health via multiple pathways, including behavioural, psychological, and biological mechanisms [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Hence, early intervention and prevention strategies are important to break this negative spiral and maintain social engagement in older adults. This study focused on physical activity and sedentary behaviour as potential factors for alleviating loneliness. Furthermore, we examined humour as a related factor that could facilitate social interactions.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHumour, a complex, multidimensional personality construct, is expressed through various interpersonal and intrapsychic mechanisms that either facilitate social cohesion and psychological resilience or potentially undermine relational dynamics and mental well-being based on its mode of implementation [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. In fact, humour plays a multifaceted role in our daily lives; it helps build and maintain social relationships and also serves as a coping mechanism for life's challenges, reduces psychological stress, and enhances emotional well-being and cognitive health [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR6\" citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. Considering these beneficial effects on social and psychological well-being, further attention should be paid to humour as a potential pathway for promoting social participation and reducing loneliness among older adults.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecent findings have suggested that adaptive humour styles, particularly affiliative and self-enhancing styles, are associated with lower levels of loneliness [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]. Humour ability is associated with executive function, which encompasses top-down mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, and remember instructions. It includes three core functions, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e], that gradually decrease with age [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. Specifically, working memory is associated with a joke\u0026rsquo;s context and its interpretations, whereas cognitive flexibility is related to multiple visual elements to identify humourous features [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. A study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that humour processing involves distinct neural networks, including the frontal cortex, and specifically the medial ventral prefrontal cortex [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]. Considering that the frontal brain regions also play a crucial role in executive function [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e], humour processing and executive function may potentially share common neural substrates. Since physical activity is associated with frontal cortex activation, which supports executive function [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e], physical activity may foster humour ability through enhanced executive function.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConsistent with this, Ludyga et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e] suggested that specific nervous system functions and oxytocin, which evolved to cope with increasingly complex social systems, played crucial roles in social cognition and were potentially sensitive to physical activity. Moreover, team and partner sports were more strongly associated with cognitive benefits compared with individual activities, which suggested that a physical activity\u0026rsquo;s social context was important for cognitive improvement [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. In contrast to physical activity, sedentary behaviour in older adults was a risk factor for cognitive decline and associated with executive dysfunction [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. Hence, physical activity and sedentary behaviour were associated with loneliness through humour expressions.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTherefore, this study examined the associations between physical activity levels, sedentary behaviour, humour ability (humour styles and humour coping), and loneliness in older adults. Specifically, we investigated how physical activity and sedentary behaviour were associated with humour ability, and whether these relationships were associated with feelings of loneliness. To address these research questions, we conducted a large-scale cross-sectional study to identify the key factors of physical activity and sedentary behaviour that were associated with humour ability and loneliness. We hypothesised that physical activity, particularly social physical activities, such as exercise/sports participation with friends, would be associated with higher humour ability and reduced loneliness. Conversely, sedentary behaviours would have adverse associations with these outcomes. Understanding these relationships can provide valuable insights for the development of further effective interventions to prevent social isolation and promote mental health in aging societies. Lastly, traditional statistical approaches often struggle with complex relationships among multiple variables, which can potentially lead to spurious associations or overlooking important patterns in health behaviour research., Hence, we employed Bayesian sparse regression and structural equation modelling (BSEM). This approach provides a further robust analytical framework by incorporating prior knowledge and effectively managing multiple comparisons while quantifying the uncertainty in both variable selection and parameter estimates.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eParticipants and procedures\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eData utilized a web-based cross-sectional survey, administered via Google Forms in November 2024, to obtain data from members of an online research company, Cross Marketing Inc. Participants were compensated with reward points. All participants read a comprehensive explanation of the study procedures and provided electronic informed consent. Among 5,287 eligible participants, we excluded eight and 66 who did not specify their gender to examine gender-specific effects and were outside the specified age range (65\u0026ndash;84 years), respectively. The final analytical sample comprised 5,213 participants (2,605 females and 2,608 males). This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Medicine at Tohoku University. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMeasures\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe focused on 11 key variables: demographic characteristics (age and gender), sports and exercise history (past and current activities, age of initiation, duration of participation), physical activity levels, assessed via the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ); humour-related measures, which included the Humour Styles Scale [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e] and Humour Coping Scale [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e], and the Japanese version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]. Details of questionnaire are described in Supplementary Materials 1\u0026ndash;2. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e presents the variables used in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescription of Variables Used in Bayesian Variable Selection Model\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eExplanation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStart_age\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStarting Age of Present Sports Activities\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSport_years\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eYears of Present Sports/Exercise Participation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ework_high_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHigh-intensity METs at work\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ework_moderate_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eModerate-intensity METs at work\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ework_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal work-related physical activity METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003etransportation_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTransportation-related physical activity METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eleisure_high_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHigh-intensity leisure-time physical activity METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eleisure_moderate_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eModerate-intensity leisure-time physical activity METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eleisure_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal leisure-time physical activity METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal physical activity METs across all domains\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003esedentary\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDaily sedentary time (minutes spent sitting)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSex\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFemale or Male (Sex was coded as 0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;female, 1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;male for analysis)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePast_ex_friends\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePast exercise/sports participation with friends\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePast_ex_alone\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePast solitary exercise/sports participation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePresent_ex_friends\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePresent exercise/sports participation with friends\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePresent_ex_alone\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePresent solitary exercise/sports participation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhysical activity levels were assessed via a modified web-based version of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire Version 2 (GPAQ ver.2; [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]). The web-adapted version maintained the core components of the original GPAQ, and provided structured response options more suitable for online administration. The primary outcomes assessed comprised physical activity, quantified via the Metabolic Equivalent of Task [METs] values for various activities, and sedentary behaviour durations.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHumour styles were assessed via the Japanese version of the Humour Styles Questionnaire (HSQ; [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e]). It comprised 32 items that measured four humour styles: affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humour. To reduce the response burden on older participants, we modified the original 7-point scale to a 4-point scale: 1 (does not apply to me at all), 2 (somewhat does not apply to me), 3 (somewhat applies to me), and 4 (applies to me completely). Total scores ranged from 0\u0026ndash;32 points for each subscale, and higher scores reflected a greater propensity toward the respective humour style.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Humour Coping Questionnaire (HCQ; [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e]) was used to assess participants' use of humour as a coping strategy. It comprised 24 items that measured four styles of humour coping: self-enhancing, cooperative, aggressive, and self-joking humour coping. To reduce the response burden on older participants, we modified the original 6-point scale into a 4-point scale: 1 (does not apply to me at all), 2 (somewhat does not apply to me), 3 (somewhat applies to me), and 4 (applies to me completely). Total scores ranged from 0\u0026ndash;24 points for each subscale, and higher scores indicated greater engagement in that specific humour coping style.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLoneliness was assessed via the Japanese version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 (UCLA LS3; [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]). This 20-item scale measured loneliness as a unidimensional construct. Items assessed subjective feelings of social isolation and dissatisfaction with social relationships. Each item was rated on a 4-point scale: 1 (never), 2 (rarely), 3 (sometimes), and 4 (always). Total scores ranges from 20\u0026ndash;80 points, and higher scores indicated greater levels of perceived loneliness.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eStatistical analyses\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDemographic variables (age and gender), current ongoing sports and exercise characteristics (age of initiation and duration of participation), physical activity measures (METs for various activities), sedentary duration, and both past and present exercise patterns (individual, team, contact sports, exercise with friends, solitary exercise) were treated as explanatory variables. Conversely, humour-related factors (Humour Styles and Humour Coping scales) and feeling of loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale) served as outcome variables. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e presents a description of the variables used in the Bayesian variable selection model. To investigate the relationships between these explanatory and outcome variables, we employed Bayesian sparse regression, which allowed for the identification of significant predictors, managed multicollinearity, and enhanced model interpretability. Statistical analyses were performed using Python version 3.12.0. Data pre-processing was conducted via Pandas (version 2.2.3), Polars (version 1.17.1), and NumPyro (version 0.15.3). Details of the Bayesian variable selection are described in Supplementary Materials 3. Furthermore, to identify the key predictors of loneliness, Bayesian variable selection was conducted, and considered physical activity, sitting time, and humour expression as potential predictors. Subsequently, variables with a high inclusion probability (IP) were examined related to loneliness via the BSEM. BSEM analysis was implemented via the lavaan package (version 0.5.6) in R (version 4.4.1). It was performed using the bsem function with the following specifications: Regression coefficients (β): Normal distribution with mean\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0 and standard deviation\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;5, Factor loadings (λ): Normal distribution with mean\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0 and standard deviation\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;5, and Residual variances (ψ): Gamma distribution with shape\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1 and rate\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation was conducted via four parallel chains. For each chain, 45,000 iterations were run, with the first 15,000 iterations discarded as burn-in, which resulted in 30,000 post-burn-in samples for inference. This sampling strategy ensured adequate convergence and stable parameter estimates and minimised autocorrelation in the posterior distributions.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough most parameters in each model demonstrated good convergence (R-hat\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;1.1), convergence issues were detected for some regression coefficients across the different humour and coping styles. Details of the convergence diagnostics are described in Supplementary Materials 4.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHumour styles\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and Fig.\u0026nbsp;1 present the results. Results revealed that both past and present exercise/sports participation with friends and past solitary exercise/sports participation were associated with greater affiliative humour. Furthermore, they were associated with greater self-enhancing humour. In contrast, both past and present exercise/sports participation with friends were also associated with less aggressive humour. Sedentary behaviour was associated with a lower expression of all humour styles.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAssociations Between Physical Activity Patterns and Humour Styles: A Bayesian Analysis with Variable Selection (Inclusion Probability\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAffiliative Humour\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-defeating Humour\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-enhancing Humour\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAggressive Humour\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.501\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.733\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStart_age\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.730\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSport_years\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.675\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.618\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ework_high_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ework_moderate_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.610\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ework_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003etransportation_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.697\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.534\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eleisure_high_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eleisure_moderate_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eleisure_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003esedentary\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.752\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.852\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.709\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.803\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSex\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.883\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.884\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.917\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePast_ex_friends\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.809\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.671\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.776\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePast_ex_alone\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.756\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.684\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePresent_ex_friends\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.787\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePresent_ex_alone\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.774\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.766\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHumour coping styles\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e and Fig.\u0026nbsp;2 present the results. Results revealed that past exercise or sports participation with friends was associated with greater self-enhancing, cooperative, and self-mocking humour coping. In contrast, it was also associated with less aggressive humour coping. Sedentary behaviour was associated with a lower expression of all humour coping styles.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAssociations Between Physical Activity Behaviors and Humour Coping Styles: A Bayesian Analysis with Variable Selection (Inclusion Probability\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-enhancing Coping\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCooperative Coping\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAggressive Coping\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-mocking Coping\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.716\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.579\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eStart_age\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.715\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSport_years\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.740\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.761\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ework_high_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ework_moderate_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.542\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ework_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.516\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003etransportation_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.756\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.790\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.560\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eleisure_high_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eleisure_moderate_MET\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eleisure_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal_METs\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003esedentary\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.752\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.859\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.885\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.757\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSex\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.764\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.946\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.674\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePast_ex_friends\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.826\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.904\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.682\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.851\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePast_ex_alone\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.577\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePresent_ex_friends\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePresent_ex_alone\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGender difference\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs shown in Tables\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e and Figs.\u0026nbsp;1 and 2, gender was identified as the strongest predictor of several humour styles and humour coping styles. Accordingly, we conducted the same analyses separately for each gender to examine whether the observed associations between the explanatory and humour-related variables differed by gender. Supplementary Tables\u0026nbsp;1\u0026ndash;4 and Supplementary Figs.\u0026nbsp;1\u0026ndash;4 illustrate the inclusion probability and 95% credible intervals. Results indicated that the overall trends were similar across both genders.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLoneliness\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSupplementary Table\u0026nbsp;5 and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;5 present the inclusion probabilities and 95% confidence intervals. Bayesian variable selection detected stronger predictors, such as affiliative humour, self-defeating humour, self-enhancing humour coping, aggressive humour coping, and both past and present exercise/sports participation with friends. We used the predictive variables for loneliness and conducted a BSEM. Results indicated that past and present exercise experiences with friends were associated with reduced loneliness through two pathways: one demonstrated direct effects and another suggested partial mediation via the utilisation of positive humour expressions (i.e. affiliative humour and self-enhancing humour coping). In contrast, an indirect pathway associated with greater loneliness was observed for past exercise experiences with friends through self-deprecating humour (Supplementary Tables\u0026nbsp;6 and 7). Hence, affiliative humour and self-enhancing humour coping were categorised as positive humour expressions, while self-defeating humour and aggressive humour coping were classified as negative humour expressions. Figure\u0026nbsp;3 illustrates these pathways.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eResults of the Bayesian sparse regression models suggested that social physical activity (i.e. exercise/sports participation with friends) in older adults was related to greater positive humour expression. Furthermore, results of the BSEM indicated that social physical activities were related to lower feelings of loneliness, which were partially mediated by the utilisation of positive humour expressions. The observed positive associations between humour abilities, exercise/sports participation with friends, and feelings of loneliness underscored the importance of the type and social context of physical activity in shaping humour styles, which highlighted its potential as a tool for reducing loneliness.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhysical activity with social interaction had potentially beneficial effects on reducing loneliness. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. Community-based exercise programs that combined physical activity with social interaction alleviated loneliness [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, engaging in socially interactive physical activity could potentially enhance humour abilities through two pathways: prefrontal cortical activation from exercise physiologically improved humour processing, while sports/exercise experiences with friends naturally encouraged the use of humour to overcome challenges and building relationships, which effectively fortified humour expression. Conversely, our findings implied that sedentary behaviour significantly impaired humour expression. Considering previous findings that physical inactivity was associated with lower social interaction [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e], sedentary activities that lack social interaction may lead to decreased social cognitive abilities, such as humour expression. Our analysis revealed that gender was associated with all measured outcomes: humour style and humour coping style. This robust pattern of gender-differences aligned with results from previous research on social cognition and physical activity [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR26 CR27 CR28\" citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. However, no significant difference was observed between female and male regarding the relationship between physical activity and humour expression. Therefore, exercise/sports participation with friends promoted humour expression, which was critical to mitigate feelings of loneliness in older adults\u0026rsquo; populations. Conversely, socially isolating sedentary behaviours may work in the opposite direction and potentially undermine the benefits of social physical activities.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study highlights the associations between social physical activities and sedentary behaviour with humour expression and loneliness among older adults. The strength of this study lies in its large sample size, which provides robust statistical power for detecting meaningful associations, and allows for more precise parameter estimates via Bayesian variable selection methods. However, this study had several limitations. First, since this was a cross-sectional study, causal interpretations cannot be drawn from our findings. Longitudinal studies should establish the causal relationship between physical activity patterns, sedentary behaviour, and humour utilisation in older adults. Second, the self-reported assessment limits our ability to objectively measure humour style. Although previous research employed empirical measures of social cognition, such as prosocial behaviour [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e], objective measurement methods of humour should be developed and investigated. Finally, although our findings indicated that sedentary behaviour was related to lower engagement in humour expression, this study did not investigate social interactions during sedentary time. Future research should distinguish between socially engaged sedentary activities (e.g. conversations with family or friends) and solitary sedentary behaviours, as these may differentially affect humour expression and loneliness.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn conclusion, this study highlights the associations between social physical activity, and sedentary behaviour on humour abilities and feeling of loneliness in older adults. Our findings suggest that engagement in social physical activity is associated with enhanced positive humour expressions, which contributed to reduced feelings of loneliness. This pathway indicates a potential mechanism through which social physical activity may mitigate loneliness via the mediating role of positive humour expression. Furthermore, our findings emphasize the importance of reducing sedentary time to enhance humour abilities. Social physical activity promotion and sedentary behaviour reduction incorporating humour-related elements could be a promising approach toward preventing social isolation in older adults.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Abbreviations","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionList\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eBSEM\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBayesian sparse regression and structural equation modelling\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eGPAQ\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGlobal Physical Activity Questionnaire\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eMETs\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMetabolic Equivalent of Task\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eHSQ\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHumour Styles Questionnaire\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eHCQ\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHumour Coping Questionnaire\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Medicine at Tohoku University. All participants read a comprehensive explanation of the study procedures and provided electronic informed consent before participation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable. This manuscript does not contain data from any individual person that would require consent for publication.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailability of data and materials\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets of the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Startup (24K23707).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflicts of Interest\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors have no competing interests to declare.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors\u0026apos; contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConceptualization and supervision: K.S., K.K. and Y.T. Methodology, data collection, and analysis: K.S and K.K. Writing draft: K.S, T.K., K.K. Draft Revision: K.S., A.U., T.K., K.K., Y.T. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors would like to thank Editage (www.editage.jp) for the English language editing services. We also express our gratitude to Nospare Inc. (www.no-spare.com), whose statistical modelling seminars provided valuable inspiration for the analytical approach used in this study. We would like to thank Cross Marketing Inc. (www.cross-m.co.jp) for their assistance with data collection. Finally, we express our sincere gratitude to all the participants who participated in this study.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSurkalim DL, Luo M, Eres R, et al. The prevalence of loneliness across 113 countries: systematic review and meta-analysis. 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Cereb Cortex. 2024;34. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.1093/cercor/bhad509\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1093/cercor/bhad509\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"humour style, humour coping style, sparse regression, horseshoe priors, Bayesian Structural Equation Model","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7135619/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7135619/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eObjective\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSocial isolation among older adults is a growing concern, partially owing to diminished social cognitive function. Physical activity can potentially enhance social cognitive function. This study focused on humour as an important facilitator of social interaction and examined how physical activity was associated with humour expression and loneliness.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMethods\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study included 5,213 Japanese older adults. We examined the associations between physical activity patterns (past and present exercise experiences, physical activity levels, sedentary behaviour), humour-related outcomes (humour styles and humour coping styles), and feelings of loneliness. All the measures were self-reported. We applied Bayesian sparse regression modelling and structural equation modelling (BSEM) to analyse these large sample datasets.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResults\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBayesian sparse regression models revealed that past and present sport/exercise experience with friends were associated with positive humour expressions. In contrast, sedentary behaviour was associated with a lower overall propensity for humour expression. BSEM indicated that exercise experiences with friends was associated with reduced feelings of loneliness, partially mediated by the utilisation of positive humour expressions.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConclusion\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese findings suggest the novel role of social physical activity in reducing loneliness among older adults through positive humour expression. Furthermore, reducing sedentary behaviours is important for maintaining humour expression.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Social Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour as Key Determinants of Humour Expression and Loneliness in Older Adults: A Cross-sectional Study Using Bayesian Variable Selection Approach","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-07-24 05:37:31","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7135619/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-12-01T06:32:12+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-11-30T03:53:18+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-11-27T13:02:00+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"50401045853582611053907299030533510602","date":"2025-11-15T07:29:00+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"243308447140204165700547744185031822184","date":"2025-11-15T05:32:07+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"185060221276017111695495607601862366174","date":"2025-11-13T07:46:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"222043597828442904093266596604962602549","date":"2025-10-23T17:01:27+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-17T15:56:48+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"281499966688721631555182780232561793616","date":"2025-10-14T13:26:11+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"268288354463611615910370153477160384186","date":"2025-09-19T12:28:49+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-09-02T08:29:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-07-18T10:21:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-07-18T10:20:14+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Public Health","date":"2025-07-16T04:19:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"8c4fee31-ad0c-4b17-b326-014ccc334224","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 24th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-09T16:06:45+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7135619","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-26232-8","journal":{"identity":"bmc-public-health","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Public Health"},"publishedOn":"2026-02-07 15:57:57","publishedOnDateReadable":"February 7th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-07-24 05:37:31","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s12889-026-26232-8","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-26232-8","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7135619","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7135619","identity":"rs-7135619","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}