More people die on Christmas than any other day of the year, Medical Daily reported.

In the 1970s, researchers discovered this phenomenon after they began studying death trends throughout the year. A wide array of causes seem to contribute to the trend of Christmas Day deaths including understaffed hospitals and an unwillingness by people to bother their relatives for a ride to the doctor’s office.

Death by cardiac disease, respiratory diseases, endocrine/nutritional/metabolic problems, digestive diseases, and cancer – the five most common causes of death – see an overall increase during this time of year, Medical Daily reported.

One study from the University of California San Diego examined hospital workforces around the holidays and discovered that Level 1 trauma centers often carry less than a full staff, and have less experienced professionals on hand during the Christmas holiday.

“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,” study author David P. Phillips said.

One optimistic note: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said suicide deaths don’t increase the same way deaths from other factors do around the holidays.

Source: Fox news