Enhancing Cardiorespiratory Fitness Through Sauna Bathing: Insights From the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Prospective Study
Kunutsor SK, Isiozor NM, Kurl S, Laukkanen JA
Journal of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and prevention · 4 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Cohort study (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
Publication
- Published
- 2024-06-05 · J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev · vol. 44 · issue 4 · pp. 295–300
- Publisher
- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- Cited
- 5 citations · more than 77% of similar papers · 1.1× the field average
- References
- 63 works
- Access
- Paywalled
- Research areas
- Thermoregulation and physiological responses · Cardiovascular and exercise physiology · Physical Activity and Health
- Keywords
- Medicine, Cardiorespiratory fitness, Bathing, Prospective cohort study, Internal medicine, Physical therapy, Cardiology, Disease
- MeSH
- humans, myocardial ischemia, exercise test, steam bath, longitudinal studies, prospective studies, cross-sectional studies, adult, middle aged, male, cardiorespiratory fitness
4 authors
From FI, GB
- Setor K. Kunutsor · corresponding
- Nzechukwu Michael IsiozorUniversity of Eastern Finland; Leicester General Hospital; Central Finland Health Care District
- Sudhir KurlUniversity of Eastern Finland; Leicester General Hospital; Central Finland Health Care District
- Jari A. LaukkanenUniversity of Eastern Finland; Leicester General Hospital; Central Finland Health Care District
Abstract
Purpose
The physiological adaptations stimulated by a sauna bath (SB) are similar to those produced by moderate- or high-intensity physical activity (PA), but the relationship between SB and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is not clear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between frequency and duration of SB with CRF.
Methods
Baseline SB habits were assessed in 2012 men aged 42 -61 yr. CRF was directly measured using a respiratory gas exchange analyzer during cardiopulmonary exercise testing at baseline and 11 yr later. The associations of SB frequency and duration with baseline and 11-yr levels of CRF were examined using robust regression analyses adjusted for several confounders, including lifestyle factors such as PA.
Results
In baseline analysis, a unit increase in sauna sessions/wk was associated with an increase in CRF 0.30 mL/kg/min (standard error [SE]: 0.14; P = .034). Alternatively, compared with a single sauna sessions/wk, 2-3 and 4-7 sauna sessions/wk was each associated with significant increases in levels of CRF: 0.84 mL/kg/min (SE: 0.32; P = .008) and 1.17 mL/kg/min (SE: 0.57; P = .041), respectively. In longitudinal analysis, frequent SB was associated with increases in 11-yr CRF levels, but this was only significant for 2-3 sauna sessions/wk compared with a single sauna sessions/wk: 1.22 mL/kg/min (SE: 0.59; P = .038). Duration of SB was not significantly associated with CRF levels in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.
Conclusions
Frequent SB may improve levels of CRF independently of PA. These results warrant replication in robust definitive randomized controlled trials.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher.
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