| A team from MedUni Vienna’s Center for Public Health investigated for the first time the suicide risk of members of several health professions and other highly qualified professions in comparison to the general population. The results show that the suicide risk among male doctors, tax consultants/auditors is significantly lower than in the general population, while among women an increased suicide risk was found for doctors, dentists, veterinarians and pharmacists. The study makes it clear that increased awareness and specific suicide prevention measures in healthcare professions can help to improve the situation. |
Some foreign studies indicate that people in healthcare professions have a higher risk of suicide. However, the results are not consistent and vary in different countries. Research has also shown that high-skilled occupations are less affected, which is attributed to higher income and higher levels of education.
A new study carried out at MedUni Vienna’s Division of Epidemiology examined for the first time the risk and methods of suicide among members of several healthcare professions in comparison to the general population:
- Dentists
- veterinarians
- pharmacists
as well as other highly qualified professions:
- Tax consultants/auditors
- Lawyers.
For this purpose, data from deceased members was compared with the Austrian cause of death statistics in cooperation with the respective chambers. This made it possible to identify cases of suicide and to compare their extent with the general population in Austria.
“The results show that among the male members of these occupational groups, only veterinarians had a significantly increased risk of suicide,” says Claudia Zimmermann from the Department of Epidemiology at MedUni Vienna and first author of the study. For male doctors, tax consultants and auditors, there was even a significantly lower risk than for the male population. The picture is different for women: the risk was higher in all four health professions and lower for tax consultants/auditors.
In the general population, more than three times as many men die from suicide as women. This gap between the sexes is significantly smaller in the occupational groups examined (e.g. twice as high a suicide rate for pharmacists as compared to female pharmacists) or hardly exists (the same high suicide rate for dentists).
“These results suggest that increased awareness and specific suicide prevention interventions in healthcare professionals, particularly with regard to women, can help improve the situation,” says carpenter.
publication
- Zimmermann, C; Strohmaier, S; Niederkrotenthaler, T; Thau, K; Schernhammer, E. (2023): Suicide mortality among physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and pharmacists as well as other high-skilled occupations in Austria from 1986 through 2020; doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115170.