United States: A study found that female doctors are more likely to get die by suicide than people in the general population. The research shows that female doctors have almost over 76 percent higher risk of suicide compared to the average person.
Male Doctors Also at Risk
Male doctors have about the same suicide risk as the general public, but they are still 81% more likely to die by suicide compared to other professionals. The results were published on August 21 in a medical journal called BMJ.
As reported by HealthDay, Suicide rate ratios for physicians appear to have decreased over time, but are still increased for female physicians,” concluded the research team led by Eva Schernhammer, an epidemiologist with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health which is situated in Boston.
Doctors are actually considered a profession at a high risk for the suicide said the researchers in the background notes. It’s estimated that one doctor dies by suicide every day in the United States and around one in every 10 days in U.K. researchers said.
A 2004 analysis found a higher and total risk of death for both the female male and female physicians, driven in part by the higher suicide rates researchers noted.
Historical and Global Data Analysis
For this new review researchers analyzed data gathered in 39 studies from 20 countries between 1935 and 2020.
A separate analysis of the 10 most recent studies showed a decline in the suicide rates for both female and female doctors over time, However the suicide rate for female doctors remains 24 percent higher compared with the general population results show.
Higher recognition of mental disorders and improved enablement of physicians at the workplace could have contributed to the reduction of suicides, scientists suggested.
Contributing Factors and Possible Solutions
Doctors are said to have personality features such as perfectionism, obsession and competitiveness, an accompanying editorial by Patron of Doctors in Distress UK, Dr Clare Gerada, suggesting that these characteristics ‘in highly stressful working conditions lead to guilt, low self-esteem and chronic failure’.
“Doctors also have access to potentially lethal drugs, for example opiates and anaesthetic preparation like propofol and the high rate of suicide reported amongst anaesthetists,” the editorialists said.
Tackling suicidal risk factors among doctors will also involve the matters of work stress, work-interference with personal life, and general psychological and emotional demands which the editorial discusses.
For those who are struggling with a mental health emergency, there is immediate, professional, and anonymous support all the time at 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.