“Christmas Holiday Effect:” Increase in Cardiac-Related Deaths Around the Holidays
A new study found an increase in cardiac related deaths, both in and outside hospitals, around the Christmas holidays, also known as the “Christmas Holiday Effect.”1 The study, conducted in New Zealand, tested the hypothesis of a US study which demonstrated a rise in deaths around Christmas and New Year’s Day.2
Researchers collected data for the Christmas holiday period (December 25 to January 7) from 1988 to 2013, and replicated the original study’s methods for analyzing the data. The data was classified as cardiac or noncardiac related deaths, and whether the death occurred in a medical facility.
There were 738,409 deaths, of which 197,109 were coded as cardiac deaths, and 101,318 of the cardiac related deaths occurred in a hospital. Cardiac deaths had an excess event rate of 4.2%, which lead to about 4 more deaths per year. The average age for cardiac deaths was 76.2 years, lower than the average 77.1 years during other times of the year.
The results indicate that winter temperatures are not necessarily related to the rise in deaths around the Christmas holiday. Additionally, the study confirms the findings of the pervious study that showed an increase in cardiac related deaths around Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Several theories have been proposed to explain the rise in cardiac related deaths around the Christmas holiday. According to researchers, the displacement of death and delay in seeking medical treatment appear to be supported by their data. “There is the possibility of a displacement effect, in which mortality is being concentrated during the holiday period rather than directly causing additional mortality,” the researchers concluded.
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
1. Knight J, Schilling C, Barnett A, Jackson R, Clarke P. Revisiting the “Christmas Holiday Effect” in the Southern Hemisphere [published online December 22, 2016]. Journal of the American Heart Association. doi:https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.116.005098.
1. Phillips DP, Jarvinen JR, Abramson IS, Phillips RR. Cardiac mortality is higher around Christmas and New Year's than at any other time the holidays as a risk factor for death. Circulation. 2004;110:3781–3788