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Regular sauna bathing reduces cardiovascular disease risk
Clinical Question
Does regular sauna bathing reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in adults?
Bottom line
Regular use of a sauna ("sauna bathing") is associated inversely with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The more sessions per week and the more time spent in the sauna proportionally decreases risk. This study was performed in Finland, where they like their saunas very hot (see synopsis). Since the relative humidity is very low (10% - 20%) in this cool, northern country, sauna bathers also throw water on the hot sauna rocks to create a blast of super hot, moist air. 2b
Reference
Study design: Cohort (prospective)
Funding: Government
Setting: Population-based
Synopsis
These investigators analyzed data obtained from a population-based, prospective cohort study in Finland to investigate the effect of sauna bathing habits on the development of CVD. The traditional Finnish sauna achieves temperatures of 80 to 100 degrees Celsius (176 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit) at the level of the bather's head. Although the average relative humidity is only 10% to 20%, an increase in humidity is temporarily reached by throwing water on the hot rocks of the sauna heater. Participants (N = 1688)—who were 53 to 74 years of age; 51.4% were women--used self-administrated questionnaires to assess traditional CVD risk factors and to record the frequency, duration, and temperature of their sauna sessions. Outcomes, including CVD deaths, were obtained from review of hospital records, health center charts, and death certificates. Complete follow-up occurred for all participants for a median of 15.0 years. After controlling for multiple confounding standard risk factors, CVD mortality rates were significantly lower across 3 frequency groups of sauna bathing: 1 time, 2 to 3 times, and 4 to 7 times per week (10.1, 7.6, and 2.7 CVD deaths per 1000 person-years, respectively). Similarly CVD mortality significantly decreased linearly with increasing sauna sessions from 1 to 7 per week and with increasing duration of sauna use (minutes per week).
Reviewer
David C. Slawson, MD
Professor and Vice Chair of Family Medicine for Education and Scholarship
Atrium Health
Professor of Family Medicine, UNC Chapel Hill
Charlotte, NC
Comments
Regular sauna bathing. Does it really help?
Wonder if there is selection bias, as in people who could not tolerate saunas would stop, but from a statistical point of view, would be lumped in with people with similar health problem, but could tolerate the sauna - the latter group likely healthier.
I used to use a sauna (mother Finnish). When I developed very symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, it quickly became obvious that using a sauna was a trigger, and I stopped. In the Finnish study, people like me not using saunas would have likely been statistically compared with less symptomatic atrial fibrillation people who could tolerate saunas.