Kunutsor SK, et al. - The link between frequency of sauna bathing and risk of pneumonia was examined in this study. In a middle-aged male Caucasian population, it was evident that frequent sauna baths were related to reduced pneumonia risk.

Methods

• In a prospective cohort of 2210 men aged 42–61 years, questionnaires were administered to assess the baseline sauna bathing habits.

Results

• Findings demonstrated that 375 hospital diagnosed cases of pneumonia were recorded during a median follow-up of 25.6 years.
• Researchers found that in age-adjusted analyses, the hazard ratios (HRs) 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of pneumonia were 0.67 (0.53–0.83) and 0.53 (0.34–0.84) for participants who had 2-3 and ≥4 sauna sessions per week respectively compared with participants who had ≤ 1 sauna session per week.
• In addition, the reported HRs were 0.69 (0.55–0.86) and 0.56 (0.35–0.88) respectively, after further adjustment for several major risk factors.
• Data also revealed that the links remained on additional adjustment for total energy intake, socioeconomic status, physical activity, and C-reactive protein, 0.72 (0.57–0.90) and 0.63 (0.39–1.00) respectively.