The medical literature contains many articles that relate to the Christmas season. Some report the curious and others the tragic. Among the latter are reports concerning increased depression and observations of the higher incidence of road injuries and death resulting from alcohol consumption at holiday parties.
The list below focuses on the first group, whose subjects range from interesting to unusual to bizarre. The oldest paper listed here dates back to 1941, suggesting that Christmas has long been recognised by the scientific community as the “most dangerous time of the year”.
The Humbug index: a selection of holiday-themed medical research papers
Data provided by Thomson Reuters from its Web of Science database
| Paper | Author(s), journal |
| Deck the halls with rows of trolleys…emergency departments are busiest over the Christmas holiday period | W. Zheng, D. J. Muscatello and A. C. Chan, Medical Journal of Australia, 187 (11-12): 630-633, 3 December 2007 |
| Cardiac mortality is higher around Christmas and New Year’s than at any other time: the holidays as a risk factor for death | D. P. Phillips, J. R. Jarvinen, I. S. Abramson and R. R. Phillips, Circulation, 110 (25): 3781-3788, 21 December 2004 |
| Christmas and psycho-pathology: data from a psychiatric emergency room population | J. R. Hillard, J. M. Holland and D. Ramm, Archives of General Psychiatry, 38 (12): 1377-1381, 1981 |
| Toxic hazards: Christmas holiday poison hazards | R. J. Haggerty, New England Journal of Medicine%3C/i%3E, 259 (26): 17-18, 1958 |
| Small bowel perforation due to a Christmas cake decoration | E. S. Kiff and N. Hulton, British Medical Journal, 287 (6409): 1923-1924, 1983 |
| Complications of ornamental Christmas bulb ingestion: case report and review of the literature | H. P. Norberg and H. M. Reyes, Archives of Surgery, 110 (12): 1494-1497, 1975 |
| Holiday ornament-related injuries in children | A. Kimia, L. Lee, M. Shannon, A. Capraro, D. Mays, P. Johnston, D. Hummel and M. Shuman, Pediatric Emergency Care, 25 (12): 819-822, December 2009 |
| Unilateral phrenic-nerve paralysis from cutting down a Christmas tree | R. H. Tiede, J. R. Hover and S. F. Davies, Southern Medical Journal, 87 (11): 1161-1163, November 1994 |
| Mold allergy and live Christmas trees | W. J. Rockwell and J. Santilli, Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 100 (1): A39, Supplement, 1 January 2008 |
| A hazard of Christmas: Bird Fancier’s Lung and the Christmas tree | A. M. Baverstock and R. J. White, Respiratory Medicine, 94 (2): 176, February 2000 |
| Christmas-related eye injuries: a prospective study | M. Tsatsos, E. Tsesmetzoglou, C. Triandaffilidis, J. R. Thompson and T. Eke, Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 38 (1): 85-86, January/February 2010 |
| Hazards of fireworks on Christmas and New Year holidays | P. Bugbee, American Medical Association, 117: 1911, October/December 1941 |