American Medical News (12/17, Krupa) reports, “Physicians with mental illness are at a higher risk of committing suicide than nonphysicians,” according to a study published online Nov. 5 in the journal General Hospital Psychiatry. After evaluating “data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Violent Death Reporting System on 31,636 adult suicide victims in 17 states,” researchers found that “the 203 physicians in the study were more likely than nonphysicians to have a known mental health disorder or to have experienced recent job-related stress.” The piece goes on to note that physicians may be reluctant to seek help for a number of reasons, including the fact that they may be required by their state medical boards to self-report any psychiatric treatment.
Related Links:
— “Doctors shun the help that could cut suicide risk, “Carolyne Krupa, American Medical News, December 17, 2012.