Incidence of Suicide Higher for Female Physicians Than Nonphysicians

FRIDAY, March 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Female physicians in the United States have a higher incidence of suicide than female nonphysicians, according to a study published online Feb. 26 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Hirsh Makhija, from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine in La Jolla, and colleagues estimated the national incidence of male and female physician suicide and analyzed associated factors in a retrospective cohort study. The analyses included 448 physician and 97,467 general population suicides.

The researchers found that the rates of suicide were higher for female physicians than nonphysicians in 2017 and 2019, with higher overall 2017 to 2021 suicide risk. Lower 2017 to 2021 suicide risk was seen for male physicians versus male nonphysicians. Physicians had higher odds of depressed mood compared with the general population and including all available jurisdiction data. They also had higher odds of mental health, job, and legal problems preceding suicide and use of poisoning and sharp instruments. Higher odds of positive toxicology for caffeine; poison; cardiovascular agents; benzodiazepines; anxiolytics, nonbenzodiazepines, or hypnotics; and drugs not prescribed for home use were also seen for physicians.

“U.S. female physicians were at higher risk of suicide than the general female population,” the authors write. “Comprehensive and multimodal suicide prevention strategies remain warranted for physicians, with proactive consideration for those experiencing mental health issues, job problems, legal issues, and diversion investigations.”

Two authors disclosed ties to the biotechnology industry.

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