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2024 (English)In: International Journal of Circumpolar Health, ISSN 1239-9736, E-ISSN 2242-3982, Vol. 83, no 1, article id 2419698Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Frequent sauna bathing has been associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and proposed as a mediator for improved health. Therefore, the aim was to describe and compare sauna bathers with non-sauna bathers in northern Sweden based on their demographics, health and life attitudes, and to describe sauna bathers’ sauna habits. Questions on sauna bathing habits were included in the questionnaire for the participants in the Northern Sweden MONICA (multinational monitoring of trends and determinants in cardiovascular disease) study, conducted during spring of 2022, inviting adults 25–74 years living in the two northernmost counties of Sweden (Norr- and Västerbotten), randomly selected from the population register. Of the 1180 participants in MONICA 2022, 971 (82%) answered the question about sauna bathing. Of these, 641 (66%) were defined as sauna bathers. Sauna bathers reported less hypertension diagnosis and self-reported pain. They also reported higher levels of happiness and energy, more satisfying sleep patterns, as well as better general and mental health. Sauna bathers were younger, more often men and found to have a healthier life-profile compared to non-sauna bathers. Additionally, the results suggest that the positive effects associated with sauna bathing plateaued from 1–4 times per month.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis, 2024
Keywords
Sauna, bathing, health, northern Sweden, life-profile
National Category
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Research subject
Nursing
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-110680 (URN)10.1080/22423982.2024.2419698 (DOI)001340959300001 ()39446139 (PubMedID)2-s2.0-85207628012 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Umeå UniversityVisare NorrSwedish Environmental Protection AgencyLuleå University of Technology
Note
Validerad;2024;Nivå 2;2024-11-12 (sarsun);
Full text license: CC BY-NC 4.0;
Funder: County Councils in Norrbotten and Västerbotten (ALF); King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria´s Foundation of Freemasons;
2024-11-122024-11-122024-12-04Bibliographically approved