The social obligations of dining during holidays can affect health, which is easy to understand; however, the exact reasons behind the observed increase in mortality and disability rates during these periods remain unclear.
"Gaining three pounds every festive season" is a common worry about the long-term health impacts of overeating during holidays. Yet, the implication of significant holidays on health is not only long-term but also poses a more direct and lethal threat.
Even in developed countries with the highest medical standards, mortality and disability rates for the entire population increase significantly during major holidays. Statistics show that the mortality rate from respiratory diseases alone increases by 5%-10% during the two days of Christmas compared to the yearly average. An analysis of death certificates in the United States from 1979 to 2004 revealed that the number of deaths during the two weeks starting from Christmas exceeded the average for a similar duration in winter by over 40,000. Therefore, Christmas is known as the deadliest day of the year.
The medical community once believed that this phenomenon might be related to reduced healthcare services during holidays—despite hospitals having on-call staff, there are significantly fewer medical personnel than usual, and some equipment and surgeries may also be temporarily halted. Correspondingly, holidays are human-made and have no connection with the body's physiological and pathological rhythms; pathogens like bacteria and viruses do not take breaks, so people will fall ill during holidays as on any other day.
Yet, it is still difficult to determine to what extent the increased death rates during major holidays are related to the reduction in hospital staff. If a staffing decrease was the main cause, there should also be a significant increase in mortality rates during weekends, but research has found that the situation on weekends is different from Christmas. Although there are fewer on-call medical personnel on weekends, the impact on mortality rates is not evident.
Christmas and New Year occur during the winter in the Northern Hemisphere, so could the spike in death rates be related to the climate, such as the temperature, during those two weeks? Statistical data deny this possibility. Tracking the Jewish Passover (which occurs every spring), it was found that mortality rates also soar around this festival for Jews, while no change occurs in other ethnicities during the same period.
Holidays are generally considered relaxing, but many people realize as adults that holidays can often be more stressful and irritating than work. Could this be related to psychological pressure? However, research found that the mortality rate also increases among people with Alzheimer's disease during holidays, and such individuals are generally thought to be immune to holiday stress.
Patients' tendency to delay seeking medical attention over the holidays, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment, is also possible. One reason is that many holiday deaths occur in emergency rooms and during transit to hospitals. However, analyses also show that patients admitted during holidays have higher mortality rates after 7 days and one month than the average, suggesting these patients do not have a significant delay in seeking medical care due to the holidays.
The rise of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) during holidays may likely be related to alcohol consumption. Whether it's the mother or other caregivers, those who drink pose a greater threat to the infant's life. Other prime suspects for health issues like heart attacks and diabetes complications during holidays could be the poor lifestyle choices brought about by binge drinking and overeating.
Additionally, alcohol and traffic accidents are major health risks during the holiday period. According to the latest statistical reports, Memorial Day, known as America's Tomb-Sweeping Day, tops the holiday list for alcohol-related and traffic accident deaths.
There is currently no clear answer as to why holidays become deadly for health and even life. While reduced medical personnel and delayed treatments may be one reason, it is far from the only one.
Most of the above research data come from Western holidays, and detailed data on the death rates during Chinese holidays is not yet available. However, there is no reason to believe that Chinese festivals would be an exception. Although we still cannot clearly explain why holidays tend to bring extreme sadness from joy, based on the data, it is necessary for everyone to be more careful during the holidays to avoid health risks, ensuring adequate sleep, avoiding binge drinking and overeating, eliminating drunk driving, and staying away from tobacco—especially for those who have started to quit smoking, it's crucial to resist temptations during the holidays.References Links
[1] https://www.willed.com.au/guides/the-christmas-holiday-effect-why-do-more-people-die-during-the-holidays/#:~:text=Several%20studies%20suggest%20that%20there%27s,its%20underlying%20cause%20remains%20unexplained.
[2] https://www.autoinsurance.org/deadliest-holidays-to-drive/This article is supported by the Science Popularization China · Starry Sky Project
Produced by: Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology
Supervised by: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.
