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This document summarizes research on the health effects of sauna bathing. It finds that sauna bathing is generally well tolerated by healthy individuals from childhood to old age and does not appear to pose health risks. For those with cardiovascular conditions like hypertension or heart disease, sauna bathing may be safe when the condition is stable and under medication control, though more research is needed. Sauna bathing during pregnancy also appears safe except in cases of toxemia, and is not teratogenic. Further research with more rigorous study designs is still needed before sauna bathing can be routinely recommended as a treatment for medical conditions.
This document summarizes research on the health effects of sauna bathing. It finds that sauna bathing is generally well tolerated by healthy individuals from childhood to old age and does not appear to pose health risks. For those with cardiovascular conditions like hypertension or heart disease, sauna bathing may be safe when the condition is stable and under medication control, though more research is needed. Sauna bathing during pregnancy also appears safe except in cases of toxemia, and is not teratogenic. Further research with more rigorous study designs is still needed before sauna bathing can be routinely recommended as a treatment for medical conditions.
This document summarizes research on the health effects of sauna bathing. It finds that sauna bathing is generally well tolerated by healthy individuals from childhood to old age and does not appear to pose health risks. For those with cardiovascular conditions like hypertension or heart disease, sauna bathing may be safe when the condition is stable and under medication control, though more research is needed. Sauna bathing during pregnancy also appears safe except in cases of toxemia, and is not teratogenic. Further research with more rigorous study designs is still needed before sauna bathing can be routinely recommended as a treatment for medical conditions.
195 International Journal of Circumpolar Health 65:3 2006
HEALTH EFFECTS AND RISKS OF
SAUNA BATHING Katriina Kukkonen-Harjula, Kyllikki Kauppinen UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Tampere, Finland Received 1 February 2006; Accepted 2 May 2006 ABSTRACT Objectives. To study physiological, therapeutic and adverse effects of sauna bathing with special reference to chronic diseases, medication and special situations (pregnancy, children). Study design. A literature review. Methods. Experiments of sauna bathing were accepted if they were conducted in a heated room with suffcient heat (80 to 90C), comfortable air humidity and adequate ventilation. The sauna exposure for fve to 20 minutes was usually repeated one to three times. The experiments were either acute (one day), or conducted over a longer period (several months). Results. The research data retrieved were most often based on uncontrolled research designs with subjects accustomed to bathing since childhood. Sauna was well tolerated and posed no health risks to healthy people from childhood to old age. Baths did not appear to be particularly risky to patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure, when they were medicated and in a stable condition. Excepting toxemia cases, no adverse effects of bathing during pregnancy were found, and baths were not teratogenic. In musculoskeletal disorders, baths may relieve pain. Medication in general was of no concern during a bath, apart from antihyper- tensive medication, which may predispose to orthostatic hypotension after bathing. Conclusions. Further research is needed with sound experimental design, and with subjects not accustomed to sauna, before sauna bathing can routinely be used as a non-pharmacological treat- ment regimen in certain medical disorders to relieve symptoms and improve wellness. (Int J Circumpolar Health 2006:65(3):195-205.) Keywords: sauna bathing, cardiovascular diseases, medication, pregnancy, heat REVIEW 196 International Journal of Circumpolar Health 65:3 2006 REVIEW INTRODUCTION Sauna bathing is a special form of heat expo- sure characterized by a short-term exposure to exceptionally high environmental tempera- tures. It is an ancient habit in both cold and warm climates. Sauna bathing is still popular in many northern circumpolar countries and, during the past decades, it has also become a widely practiced wellness form in many central European countries. Virtually all Finns are used to weekly bathing since early childhood. The sauna is a log, or wood-paneled room, where the bathers relax on benches well above the foor level in the heat from the heater constructed of, or flled with, rocks. The hot room air temperature falls within the range of 70 to 100C, optimally between 80 and 90C at the face level of the bathers. The air humidity, modifed by bathers tossing water on the heated rocks, ranges from 15 to 30% relative humidity (r.h.) at the recommended temperatures. The sauna bath consists of repeated cycles of exposure to heat and cold. The length of stay in the hot room depends on each bath- ers own sensations of comfort; the duration usually falls between fve and 20 minutes. This is followed by a cool-off (shower, swim, or a period at room temperature), the length of which also depends on personal sensations (1). A suffcient recovery period (usually about one half of an hour) following a few hot/cold cycles allows for normalizing the body temperature and cessation of sweating. During the past half a century, a consider- able amount of research data on sauna bathing has originated especially from Germany and Finland. During the past 10 years, innovative experiments investigating new therapeutic uses of sauna bathing have been performed in Japan (2). The aim of this review is to present physi- ological, therapeutic and adverse effects of sauna bathing, particularly in cases of chronic diseases, with special reference to cardiovas- cular diseases and to medication. The habit of ice-water immersion without sauna bathing (see 3-5) will not be discussed. The literature search was based on Medline and on own personal fles. Experiments (either acute, or conducted over a longer period of up to several months) were accepted, if bathing conditions (temperature, humidity, length of exposure) complied with the above-mentioned descrip- tion of sauna bathing. PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SAUNA BATHING IN HEALTHY PERSONS The overall physiological effects of sauna expo- sure have been presented previously (e.g. 6). The cardiovascular system combats the thermal stress by cutaneous vasodilatation, and increased skin blood fow, heart rate and sweating. The heart rate accelerates up to twice the resting rate and even more (7, 8). The cardiac output is estimated to increase by about 70 % over the resting state, the total peripheral resistance of the vessels decreases by about 40 % (9), the stroke volume is unaf- fected, and the diastolic and mean arterial pressures decrease, with practically no change in the systolic pressure (7). The overall work of the heart, as estimated from the heart rate and systolic blood pressure, indicating myocardial oxygen demand, does not increase greatly (6). 197 International Journal of Circumpolar Health 65:3 2006 REVIEW The strain on the heart and the cardiovascular system depends not only on the temperature in the hot room, its air humidity and the duration of stay in the heat (8), but also on the type of cooling employed during the cool-off session. The skin temperature fuctuates from up to 40C in the hot room, down to 33C upon ice- water immersion (1). The core temperature, as measured from the esophagus, is more stable, rising in the hot room at an average rate of 0.07C min -1 up to 38C, then accelerating to 0.4C min -1 up to 39C, and returning to initial values rapidly after the exposure. The rate of reduction depends on the type of cool-off (1). Sweating results in a weight loss of about 0.5 to 1 kg. The water should be replenished by drinking during, or after the sauna bath (10). Athletes in sports performed in weight classes often use prolonged sauna bathing to decrease their weight rapidly. However, this can impair sports performance (11). The sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal hormonal axis are activated to maintain thermal balance (6, 12). The overall effect of the hormonal changes is water retention and a fght-or- fight response of the organism, manifested as reduced perception of pain, elated mood and alertness. The thermal challenge of the bath cycle is refected in increased plasma concen- trations of noradrenaline (13, 14). The adren- aline concentrations have been reported to remain unchanged, or to increase. The discrep- ancy is due to different bathing patterns, espe- cially the type of cool-off, and to different blood sampling techniques (12). When blood samples were taken in the hot room and the subjects were moved in wheelchairs for cool- offs, plasma adrenaline concentrations were elevated during bathing in young women (15). Sauna with cool-offs at room temperature did not elicit increased circulating adrenaline levels, whereas a sauna alternated with ice- water immersion resulted in increased adrena- line in persons used to winter swimming (14). The bath cycles elicit secretions of ACTH in some studies (8, 13, 14) and, especially with ice-water immersion, of cortisol (14). Plasma growth hormone, prolactin and -endorphin have also been reported to increase (8, 13). The reduced plasma volume (16) and loss of sodium in the sweat activate the renin-angiotensin- aldosterone system (12). The plasma arginine vasopressin levels and the plasma atrial natriu- retic peptide concentrations rise during a bath (17). In men, the plasma testosterone concen- trations do not change. Evidence of regular sauna bathing reducing male fertility was not found. A two-week sauna exposure altered sperm movement characteristics, but they were reversed within one week after the end of bathing sessions (18). A comfortable relative humidity of 15 to 30 % keeps the mucous membranes of the upper airways moist (19). Provided that the sauna air is hot enough, about 80 to 90C, there is no concern about viable micro-organisms being inhaled. The respiration becomes more frequent and shallow, while the total respi- ratory minute volume increases. The vital capacity (VC), the peak expiratory fow rate (PEF), and the forced expiratory volume in the frst second (FEV 1 ) all increase, implying improved pulmonary ventilation. All changes are minor, roughly 10 %, and initial levels are reached quickly after the sauna (19). The diffusing capacity did not change in healthy subjects (20). 198 International Journal of Circumpolar Health 65:3 2006 REVIEW THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS OF SAUNA BATHING IN CHRONIC DISEASES The effects of sauna bathing in the course of various diseases have been previously reviewed by Kauppinen (21), Keast and Adamo (22), Hannuksela and Ellahham (23), and Nguyen et al. (24). Cardiovascular diseases People with cardiovascular disorders are some- times discouraged to enter a sauna. The bulk of scientifc evidence, however, supports the view that persons with cardiovascular diseases in stable state with medication (e.g., essen- tial hypertension, coronary artery disease, or compensated heart failure) may safely take their sauna baths (23, 25). In addition, there is no evidence that a bath would provoke throm- botic episodes, or bleeding tendencies (6). A study on 69 Finnish patients with myocardial infarction and 32 healthy persons showed that, four to six weeks after the inci- dent, bathing was harmless (25). Only 8 % of them had cardiac dysrhythmias during bathing, compared to 18 % during a submax- imal exercise test. A ten-year follow-up study of 117 patients who had suffered myocardial infarction (9) found only one patient who had chest pain during or soon after a bath. On the other hand, 60 % of the patients experienced angina during normal daily life, in instances other than bathing. Myocardial ischemia and dysrhythmias were more pronounced during an exercise test and walking, or jogging outdoors than in connection with a sauna bath. The load on, and the oxygen demand of, the heart during bathing remained at a lower level than under comparable physical or emotional stress. Myocardial ischemia during sauna bathing and in a maximal exercise test was assessed in 16 U.S. patients with coronary heart disease, using scintigraphic imaging (26). When compared to rest, perfusion defects suggesting myocardial ischemia were observed more often during exercise than bathing, and ST depression in electrocardiograms occurred only in exercise. During the past 10 years, interventions have been conducted in Japan to use sauna bathing as one component of the treatment of congestive heart failure. Previously, hot sauna was considered as a contra-indication for this condition, but a milder form of sauna-like exposure (60C, dry air) was used in the Japa- nese studies. Acute effects of sauna and hot tub bath were compared in patients with heart failure (27). Both heat exposures increased the oxygen consumption by 0.3 MET (1 meta- bolic equivalent equalling the resting energy expenditure), increased the heart rate by 20 to 25 beats per minute, did not change the systolic pressure during the heat exposure and reduced it afterwards, increased the cardiac output by 1.5 to 2.0-fold, reduced the total peripheral resistance greatly and increased the left ventricular ejection fraction. Hemo- dynamics improved more after the hot air bath than after the tub bath. A further study compared the effects of two weeks sauna bathing in patients with cardiac failure (28). Endothelium-mediated vasodila- tion was enhanced, in addition to a decreased left ventricular end-diastolic dimension and decreased circulating concentrations of brain natriuretic peptide. Symptoms were improved in most patients (2). An improvement in impaired vascular endothelial function after two weeks bathing was also seen in men 199 International Journal of Circumpolar Health 65:3 2006 REVIEW with cardiovascular risk factors, but without cardiac failure (29). In a randomized controlled study, patients with heart failure underwent sauna bathing on fve days weekly for 2 weeks (30). Compared with the non-treated group, premature ventricular contractions decreased and heart rate variability increased, which might have prognostic signifcance. Musculoskeletal diseases Sauna bathing has been used to relieve pain in various musculoskeletal disorders, often due to degeneration. The mechanism for the heat-induced sedative effect might be medi- ated through sensory nerves in the skin. When heat stress is combined with intense cool-offs, it may result in analgesia, which is refected by increased levels of circulating -endorphins (12). This may enhance immunosuppressive and anti-infammatory functions. A peculiar fnding in persons with rheu- matoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and especially fbromyalgia, is that, while the sauna heat presently alleviates the pain, there may be a delayed effect of worsening pain the next day. During bathing, pain increased in only about 10 % of persons with neuropathic, or rheu- matoid pain (31). Within 12 hours following the bathing, about 50 % of arthritis patients reported exacerbation of pain. The increased serum concentration of prolactin may be the mediator. By experience, some patients have learnt to prevent this hangover by inten- sive cooling after bathing (32). In a nonran- domized six-week treatment study, women with fbromyalgia, but without previous sauna use, increased their pain tolerance more after sauna bathing than after aquatic therapy (33). Bathing has also been used to prevent exercise-induced musculoskeletal pain. The delayed onset muscular soreness that often follows eccentric muscular work was studied in untrained young women (34). After an exer- cise session, they were randomly subjected to a sauna bath, a hot water bath, a neutral water bath, or no heat, and the exposure was repeated after two days. The maximal strength, subjective pain, pressure threshold of pain and serum enzymes indicative of muscular cellular damage, were assessed daily for nine days after the exercise. The hot bath induced the least decrease in the strength and the least increase in the pain or the enzyme concentrations, when compared to a neutral bath. On the other hand, sauna bathing did not prevent soreness, when compared to no heat exposure. Depression There is some recent Japanese evidence that sauna bathing might be benefcial in depressed, or fatigued persons. In a random- ized controlled study, non-obese patients with mild depression underwent sauna-like expo- sure on fve days weekly for two weeks (35). Compared with the control group, somatic complaints, hunger and relaxation scores improved, while concentrations of plasma ghrelin, an orexigenic hormone, and daily energy intake, increased. Respiratory diseases Some respiratory diseases, especially chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), tolerate the sauna well. During bathing, 12 men with COPD experienced an improvement in FVC and FEV 1 , and most of them described decreased respiratory effort (36). On the other 200 International Journal of Circumpolar Health 65:3 2006 REVIEW hand, bathing did not enhance tracheobron- chial clearance in fve men with chronic bron- chitis (37). Based on this meager evidence on COPD, bathing does not seem to cause any harm, but neither does it improve the condi- tion permanently. Asthmatics usually feel that the heat in sauna relieves their respiratory effort. The mechanism is proposed to be mediated by increased concentrations of circulating cate- cholamines, which relax the bronchial smooth muscle. Fourteen asthmatic children were studied during weekly sauna bathing for seven weeks (38). No signifcant changes in PEF were observed before and after sauna, and after cooling. The common cold is believed to be fended off by regular bathing. In a nonrandomized study, 25 adults unaccustomed to sauna were submitted to bathing once or twice a week for six months, while the control group abstained from any hyperthermic exposures (39). For the frst three months, the incidence of common cold was about equal in the two groups. During the latter three months, however, the incidence among the sauna goers was less than one half of that among the control group. RISKS AND ADVERSE EFFECTS OF SAUNA BATHING Cardiovascular catastrophies, and accidents The most dreadful adverse effect during a sauna bath, or within the frst 12 hours after- wards, is sudden death, which most often is due to underlying, though not always previously diagnosed, cardiovascular disease. However, both the absolute and relative risks are small. In Finland in the 1970s, sudden deaths among men over 60 years occurred at a rate of 1 per 0.4 million sauna baths, while the rate for 50 to 59-year-olds was 1 per 2.3 million and for 40 to 49-year-olds 1 per 9 million (40). Other severe adverse effects are due to accidents, such as burns from the heater (41, 42) and drowning during a cool-off swim. Alcohol is often a contributing factor (43, 44). Alcohol consumption can also enhance the risk for hypotension. However, bathing, even in combination with heavy alcohol drinking, does not appear to provoke cardiac dysrhyth- mias in healthy young men (45). Pregnancy Sauna bathing as a source of hyperthermia has been suggested to be teratogenic in early pregnancy (46). When studying the relation- ship between heat and birth defects, the use of sauna, hot water baths and electric blankets, as well as having a fever, or living in a hot climate, have been used as examples of hyperthermia. About two decades ago, central nervous system defects, anencephaly and spina bifda were claimed to result from sauna baths during the frst two months of pregnancy, which coincides with the time for organogenesis. However, the incidence of anencephaly in Finland, where 95 to 99 % of pregnant women take sauna baths once weekly, or more, throughout their preg- nancies, is lower than anywhere in the world (47). Incidentally, in regions with high inci- dences of anencephaly, such as Belfast and Dublin, women do not seem to have fever, or take hot baths, more often than those in other regions (48). Congenital cardiovascular malformations are the most common birth defects. No asso- ciation was found between maternal sauna 201 International Journal of Circumpolar Health 65:3 2006 REVIEW bathing, the course of gestation, or the occur- rence of congenital defects in a Finnish study (a three-year national material with about 500 cases and 1000 healthy control babies) (49). Similar results on the use of hot baths and sauna have been reported from New York (50). Nor was the risk increased in Finland for defects of the central nervous system and of orofacial clefts (51), or heart defects (49). To our knowledge, experimental studies on the effects of sauna bathing on pregnant women and their fetuses have only been carried out in Finland (15, 52). Two groups of pregnant (early and late stage) women were acutely exposed to sauna-like heat exposure, as were 15 non-pregnant control women. In both pregnant and control women, the rectal temperature rose 0.3 to 0.5C during the expo- sure, i.e., not enough to reach the supposed teratogenic level of 38.9C, while the skin temperature rose by about 5C. In pregnant women, no changes were found in umbilical artery blood fow. All deliveries took place at the estimated time, and the newborn infants were all in good condition at delivery. Thus, during uncomplicated pregnancies, sauna baths neither seem to harm the fetus, nor are they dangerous to the mother. On the other hand, the resistance to the blood fow in the uterine artery was increased in toxemic patients subjected acutely to sauna-like thermal challenge, while no such event was recorded in normal controls (53). In severe toxemia, the fetal compensation mechanisms may already be utilized maximally at room temperature, and the heat exposure might compromise the availability of oxygen to the fetus. Therefore, pregnant mothers suffering from toxemia are advised to avoid the sauna bathing. Children It is often believed that children should take sauna baths because of its dangers. Yet, most children in Finland are introduced to the sauna at the mean age of fve months, and they continue to take a sauna bath at least once a week throughout life (54). However, there has only been one physiological study on sauna bathing in healthy infants (mean age seven months) (55). A three-minute exposure induced no harmful cardiovascular responses. The sauna places greater demands on a childs circulatory regulation than on that of adults. The maintenance of homeothermia, as studied in 20 children aged 5 to 10 years (56), resulted in moderate hormonal changes. Under adequate adult supervision, healthy children over two years of age may well be allowed in a sauna (57). The most common problems related to sauna bathing of children are accidental burns and scalds by hot water (58). There is a risk of vasovagal collapse at the very beginning of the cool-off phase. The heat stress may be risky for those children who have disorders of the sinoatrial node of the heart (56). Sauna-like heat exposure bathing was used as vasodilative therapy in 12 infants aged 1 to 4 months, who had severe heart failure due to ventricular defects (59). A four-week daily therapy improved hemodynamics and decreased symptoms, and surgical repairs were avoided in 9 patients. Contra-indications to sauna bathing Based on both physiological and adverse effects of bathing, contra-indications include prolonged, or unstable angina-type chest pain, myocardial infarction, or other severe cardiac events for four to eight weeks after the 202 International Journal of Circumpolar Health 65:3 2006 REVIEW incident, severe orthostatic hypotension and severe aortic stenosis (9, 25), acute infectious diseases with fever, rheumatoid arthritis in the acute infammatory phase (32), fever for any reason, and certain skin conditions, such as cholinergic urticaria, abrasions and oozing rashes (60). MEDICATION AND SAUNA BATHING Since bathing induces changes in body temper- ature, circulation and fuid balance, drug phar- macokinetics, or responses to drug therapy, may be affected. Absorption, metabolism and elimination of drugs may be altered, as well as the responses to drugs affecting the autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular system. A review by Vanakoski and Seppl (61) gives an overall presentation of pharmacokinetics under various hyperthermic conditions. It has been proposed that, if sauna decreases the hepatic circulation, it may infuence drugs with hepatic frst-pass metabolism (e.g., mida- zolam, propranolol). Indocyanine green was used as an indicator of hepatic circulation (62). Its clearance was not changed during bathing in healthy individuals. The metabolism of midazolam (a short-acting hypnotic) was not altered either (63). Ephedrine and tetracycline are both excreted through the kidneys. Renal excretion of ephedrine was unaffected (64) by bathing, and the effects of sauna on tetracycline (65) pharmacokinetics were modest in healthy individuals. Several cardiovascular drugs, including- nitroglycerin, -adrenergic blocking agents, calcium channel antagonists, and ACE inhibitors, have been studied in sauna (61). -blocking agents prevent the heat-induced increase in heart rate. Generally, antihyper- tensive medication taken immediately before bathing is not advisable, because it parallels, or amplifes, the hypotensive effects (espe- cially on diastolic pressure) of post-sauna relaxation. However, diltiazem did not poten- tiate sauna-induced vasodilation in hyperten- sive patients (66). Systemic sympathomimetics (e.g., ephe- drine) and parasympatholytics (e.g., scopo- lamine) may enhance the sauna-induced effects of increased sympathetic activity, and of elevated heart rate and blood pressure, so that their administration shortly before bathing should be done with caution. The use of drugs affecting the autonomous nervous system, such as scopolamine, atenolol, or their combination, did not have harmful effects on healthy young men during bathing (67). As bathing increases cutaneous blood fow, it may increase the absorption of transder- mally administered drugs. Indeed, the use of transdermal glyceryl trinitrate (nitroglyc- erin) (68) and nicotine (69) patches increased plasma concentrations of nitroglycerin and nicotine in healthy subjects after bathing; headaches, a clinical sign of enhanced absorp- tion of glyceryl nitrate, were experienced (68). From experience, many coronary patients know the nitroglycerin-like effect of sauna (i.e., vasodilation) and, therefore, avoid taking such drugs shortly before bathing. By a physiological mechanism similar to that of transdermal administration, insulin absorp- tion from a subcutaneous injection site in diabetics was enhanced during bathing (70). Another issue when using transdermal drug administration in the form of patches, is their adhesion stability to skin in various tempera- 203 International Journal of Circumpolar Health 65:3 2006 REVIEW tures. The adhesive reliability of a contra- ceptive patch was shown to be good in sauna bathing (71). Conclusions Human studies on the benefcial and adverse effects of sauna bathing are relatively scarce, and the study designs are often uncontrolled, with small subject numbers. Sauna heat has been administered as either acute, or repeated exposures. The physiological effects of eventual habituation to sauna bathing since childhood have not been studied in depth, in healthy persons, nor in persons with chronic diseases. Based on the present scientifc knowledge, sauna bathing poses no risks to healthy people from childhood to old age. Even persons with a cardiac condition may take their sauna baths safely, if the disease state and medication are under control. There are new promising Japa- nese research results on benefcial therapeutic effects of bathing as a part of the treatment for cardiac failure (2). However, this regimen has not been repeated in persons accustomed to bathing. 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