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Sauna Hype

Half of the people who died in Finnish saunas over 13 years had been drinking

This 2008 Journal of Forensic Sciences paper reviewed every death in a Finnish sauna from 1990 to 2002. It is the main source for how often people die in saunas and how often alcohol plays a part.

The paper

Death in Sauna*

Kenttämies A, Karkola K. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2008;53(3):724-729.

Read the paper ↗PubMed 18471223 ↗

See the study at a glance

Design
Nationwide review of forensic death records
People
Finland's 5.2 million people
Who they were
Everyone who died while in a sauna in Finland from 1990 to 2002. The country had about 2 million saunas for 5.2 million people.
What they did
The authors analyzed police reports, forensic autopsy reports, death certificates and toxicology results for each death.
How long
13 years of records, 1990–2002

These numbers came out of it

< 2

Fewer than 2 people per 100,000 inhabitants died in a sauna each year.

50%

Of everyone who died, half were under the influence of alcohol.

51%

Natural causes accounted for 51% of the deaths, and heat exposure for 25%.

The researchers did this

The authors reviewed every death that occurred while in a sauna in Finland from 1990 to 2002. They analyzed police reports, forensic autopsy reports, death certificates and toxicology results.Source 1 · Case seriesDeath in Sauna*Kenttämies A, Karkola K. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2008.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗ Finland had about 2 million saunas at the time for a population of 5.2 million.

Deaths in saunas ran at under 2 per 100,000 inhabitants a year. Just over half (51%) were natural deaths, and heat exposure was the cause in 25%.Source 1 · Case seriesDeath in Sauna*Kenttämies A, Karkola K. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2008.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

Half of everyone who died was under the influence of alcohol. The authors wrote that alcohol's role had grown. Prevention, they said, should focus on less drinking and on not leaving a drunk bather alone in the sauna.Source 1 · Case seriesDeath in Sauna*Kenttämies A, Karkola K. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2008.Read the paper ↗PubMed ↗

The abstract gives neither the number of deaths nor blood alcohol levels, and the full text is paywalled. Statistics Finland's cause-of-death table counts only deaths whose underlying cause was sauna heat. By our count, 62% of those from 1998 to 2024 were certified as intoxicated.Source 2 · DatasetTapaturmiin ja väkivaltaan kuolleet tilaston peruskuolemansyyn (ulkoisten syiden luokitus), iän ja sukupuolen mukaan, päihtyneet erikseen, 1998-2024Statistics Finland. Statistics Finland, 2025.Read the paper ↗

The study can't tell you these things

  • The abstract gives no case count or blood alcohol levels, and it doesn't define "under the influence".
  • Death records show who died with alcohol in their blood. They can't show how much drinking raises the risk, because that would take a count of all the sauna sessions where people drank and came out fine.
  • The data end in 2002. In Statistics Finland's heat-death figures, the share certified as intoxicated has fallen in more recent years.Source 2 · DatasetTapaturmiin ja väkivaltaan kuolleet tilaston peruskuolemansyyn (ulkoisten syiden luokitus), iän ja sukupuolen mukaan, päihtyneet erikseen, 1998-2024Statistics Finland. Statistics Finland, 2025.Read the paper ↗

People quote it like this

A 2025 Yle report combined the paper's 25% heat-death share with Statistics Finland's annual heat deaths to suggest more than 150 sauna deaths a year in Finland. That sum is the journalist's, and the paper gives no such total.Source 3 · News reportSauna voi olla vaarallinen paikkaYle News. Yle News, 2025.Read the page ↗

We cited these sources

  1. 01Kenttämies A, Karkola K. Death in Sauna*. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 2008;53(3):724-729. doi:10.1111/j.1556-4029.2008.00703.x PMID 18471223
  2. 02Statistics Finland. Tapaturmiin ja väkivaltaan kuolleet tilaston peruskuolemansyyn (ulkoisten syiden luokitus), iän ja sukupuolen mukaan, päihtyneet erikseen, 1998-2024. Statistics Finland. 2025.
  3. 03Yle News. Sauna voi olla vaarallinen paikka. Yle News. 2025.