IngentaConnect Death in Sauna

Authors: Kenttämies, Anu¹; Karkola, Kari²

Source: Journal of Forensic Sciences, Volume 53, Number 3, May 2008 , pp. 724-729(6)

Abstract:

Bathing in sauna is common in Finland, where there are approximately 2 million saunas among the population of 5.2 million. In this paper, deaths occurring while in a sauna in 1990-2002 in Finland were studied by analyzing police and forensic autopsy reports, death certificates, and toxicological results. The annual rate of death occurring while in a sauna was less than 2 per 100,000 inhabitants. Close to half (51%) of the cases were determined to be natural deaths and exposure to heat was the cause of death in 25%. Overall, 50% of all cases were under the influence of alcohol. The main conclusion is that death in the sauna is a rare event even in Finland where the frequency of sauna bathing is high. The role of alcohol as a risk factor has grown. The prevention of these deaths should focus on less drinking of alcohol and avoid leaving a drunken bather alone in the sauna.

Keywords: forensic science; death; sauna; alcohol

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00703.x

Affiliations: 1: Senior Medical Examiner, State Provincial Office of Southern Finland, University of Helsinki, Finland. 2: Senior Medical Examiner (retired), State Provincial Office of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

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