FPs among top groups of doctors who considered suicide in the past year: survey

Family physicians, obstetrician-gynecologists and psychiatrists ranked high among the doctors who contemplated suicide in the past year, which also saw almost four out of 10 of all doctors experiencing depression. The latest survey by Medscape, which polled close to 9,200 doctors across the United States, found 12% of doctors in family medicine, obstetrics-gynecology and psychiatry had thought of and, in a few cases, attempted suicide. Only one other specialist group, otolaryngologists, had reported a higher rate—13%—of suicide ideation. The survey also found a number of differences between doctors and the general population. Physicians, for one, are twice as likely to report thoughts of suicide. Male and female doctors also had similar attempt rates—of 1%—compared to the overall population where women are two to three times more likely than men to try and kill themselves. Age also came into play. Among the general population, higher suicide rates are typically seen among older men. Among physicians, however, those between the ages of 27 to 41 had the highest rate of suicidal ideation, at 12%. Read: Can exercise reduce the likelihood of suicide attempts? The next age group, between 42 and 56 years, reported a suicide ideation rate of 10% while the oldest group, aged 57 to 75 had the lowest at 8%. While depression was up last year from 2021—when 21% of respondents reported being depressed, compared to 23% in 2022—the percentage of doctors who said they thought of killing themselves went down from 13% in 2021 to 9% in 2022. Of those who said they had suicidal thoughts, more than half said they didn’t seek professional help because they didn’t need but over 40% said they were worried about disclosure to a medical board. One-third said they were concerned their insurance record would be affected if they got professional help, while one-quarter were afraid their colleagues might find out. Read: 'Everyone asked me to stay': CAEP past-president describes grueling day in rural hospital highlighting need for national licensure

FPs among top groups of doctors who considered suicide in the past year: survey

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