FINLAND – A group of researchers from the University of Eastern Finland, led by Jari A. Laukkanen, MD, PhD, has established that frequent visits to a dry sauna as well as the length of time spent at these spots have an association with lower risk of death resulting from coronary heart disease, cardiac arrest, cardiovascular diseases, and all-cause mortality in a section of finnish men.

“Often I have advised a patient who was considering an unnecessary test, such as a coronary artery calcium test or carotid ultrasonography from a mobile van, to forgo that test and instead spend the money on something that he or she would actually enjoy, such as a massage or spa treatment,” said journal editor Rita F. Redberg, MD, MSc.

The researchers surveyed 2,315 men aged 42-60 in Kuopio, Finland, these were men that used sauna facilities at least once in one week and were actually recruited for the study between 1984 and 1989; however, the use of saunas is a traditional norm Finland.

After filling out questionnaires, the participants were grouped into three groups – and one group was to engage in sauna bathing once a week, the second group to bathe in saunas 2-3 times per week, and the third group to use saunas 4-7 times weekly.

Traditional Finish saunas are hot and dry at 80-100 degrees Celsius with only 10%-20% humidity, and the men reported an average of 78.9 degrees Celsius for their saunas. The mean age and BMI were 53, and 26.9, respectively. On average, the men said they visited the sauna 2.1 times per week for 14.2 minutes per visit (range 2-90 minutes).

The team thereafter followed up on the participants with a mean of 18.8 years over a 10-year period for each participant; the researchers only analyzed deaths that were a result of cardiac arrest, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease – but they didn’t just take the deaths for granted, the researchers went further to confirm the cause of death through hospital records, medico legal reports, and autopsies.

Any deaths that fell outside of those stated above were not considered for the study, and these were deaths that resulted from pulmonary embolism, cancer, burst aortic aneurysm, cardiac tamponade, and other non-cardiac related deaths.

They also considered base risk factors like alcohol consumption, blood pressure, smoking, physical activity levels, and socioeconomic levels via self-reported questionnaires. Medication use and chronic diseases were confirmed by an internist; and blood pressure, cholesterol levels, body mass index, heart rate, electrocardiographs, and cardio-respiratory fitness were assessed in clinic.

After excluding those people that died in the first 5 years and calculated risk factors associated with the study, the researchers found that out of the total 929 all-cause mortality incidents, 190 were from sudden cardiac arrest, 281 were from coronary heart disease, and 407 were caused by cardiovascular disease.

Ultimately, Redberg concluded that “Although we do not know why the men who took saunas more frequently had greater longevity (whether it is the time spent in the hot room, the relaxation time, or the camaraderie of the sauna), clearly time spent in the sauna is time well spent.”