Stay Inside This Holiday Season, It Might Save Your Life!
Why do more people die at Christmas, New Year's?
Andrew Meacham is the obituary writer at the Tampa Bay Times and president of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers. Over the years he has noticed his workload pick up over the holidays.
"We are always getting a slew of obits this time of year," Meacham said. "I noticed this happened pretty regularly so I did call around to funeral directors to see if they believed there was an uptick too."
He wondered if stress or sadness had something to do with it.
"I've written many stories about a spouse or a partner dying and then you see the remaining partner die within hour or days or weeks or months. To me there seems to be a correlation between body and mind here."
Phillips and his team looked at the number of deaths among the Alzheimer's population, theorizing they may be less aware of the holidays and the stress it can trigger.
If stress were solely to blame, he figured, their deaths wouldn't spike on Christmas or New Year's. But sure enough, he found cardiac deaths were slightly higher at the holidays when Alzheimer's was listed as a secondary cause of death.
More people do die in winter months than in any other season, so Phillips looked to see if there were more deaths in the states that experience colder temperatures.
That wasn't the case, either. The cardiac mortality peak is slightly smaller in the states that border Canada, compared to states that border the Gulf of Mexico, he found.
What about festive eating or drinking? Phillips' team found deaths were still up for people who were in inpatient treatment -- whose diet and alcohol consumption was strictly regulated. In fact, those who died with substance abuse listed as a secondary cause of death saw a smaller holiday peak than those who died from cardiac diseases alone.
Despite popular belief, the suicide rate doesn't spike at the holidays. In fact, the suicide rate in December is at its lowest -- it peaks in spring and fall. The homicide rate also goes down for the holidays.
Phillips thinks the true reason that Christmas and New Year's are a risk factor for death may actually have much more to do with access to care.
People who aren't feeling well may be putting off a trip to the hospital so they can stay with their family to celebrate Christmas or New Year's, he said.
Holiday staffing at the hospital may also be to blame, he said, citing statistics from Level 1 trauma centers.
"For those deaths, the spike was even sharper," Phillips said. "Those are the cases where seconds make a difference and you may see a real difference between the response of a junior and senior member of staff."
He said he hopes his research could help hospitals and patients plan accordingly.
If the worst does happen, resources are available.
For instance, Stephanie Kohler, family services coordinator at the nonprofit Lory's Place in St. Joseph, Michigan, said she and her staff are prepared to help families find a healthy way to deal with grief over the loss of a loved one.
"We want to make sure we are ready for any phone calls to make sure people are all right in their grief," Kohler said. "The holidays definitely are a harder time of year for people when this happens, especially since they are such a time steeped in tradition and family."
If you know someone who loses a loved one over the holiday, Kohler said be sure to be extra sensitive to their emotions.
