Researchers say they have developed a GRINCH index to identify the attributes a doctor needs to be deluged by gifts from their patients this Christmas.

By tracking the presents received by 50 dermatologists working over Christmas in 2023, they found a doctor’s Gifts Received durINg Christmas Holidays (GRINCH) score increased rapidly with age and experience.

Dermatologists aged under 35 rated an average of just 4.6 presents, but by the time they had reached their early 50s, the index reached a mean of 21.5.

“Patients with chronic diseases were more prone to gifting,” the Italian research team added, saying that in the context of dermatology, those patients affected by psoriasis, atopic dermatitis or acne were more generous with their gift giving to doctors.