Kera
Experienced
- Jul 16, 2023
- 260
A study by the Clinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy at the University of Giessen came to shocking results.
Prof. Reimer from the Clinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy at the University of Gießen examined suicidality among doctors in a meta-study and came to results that stimulate reflection and rethinking. The study was published in the journal Psychiatrische Praxis from Georg Thieme Verlag (Psychiat Prax 2005; 32: 381-385).
Cold numbers
Empirically proven, physicians have a higher suicide rate than the general population. According to the results of 14 international studies, the suicide rates are 1.3-3.4 times higher, and for medical professionals even 2.5-5.7 times higher than for comparable non-medical professionals. Interestingly, the gender distribution among doctors is "balanced", while in the general population men commit suicide 2.5 times more often than women.
In a Norwegian study, a quarter of the medical professionals stated that they sometimes or often had the feeling that life was no longer worth living. One in ten of those surveyed even had serious suicidal intentions. A German study produced even more frightening results: half of the doctors stated that they had already had suicidal intentions in their lives, two thirds believe it is possible that they will commit suicide in the future.
The most commonly affected specialty
Most commonly, psychiatrists and anesthesiologists kill themselves. The meta-study does not allow any statement to be made as to why these two occupational groups in particular commit suicide so frequently. One speculation would be that anesthesiologists have the most experience with potentially lethal drugs and are most likely to have them available to them. In the case of psychiatrists, two variations are conceivable. Is the constant confrontation with suicidality the cause? Could the high suicide rate be due to the fact that people with a high level of sensitivity choose to become psychiatrists? It should be emphasized that this is pure speculation and not based on scientific knowledge.
About the causes
Depressive disorders and substance abuse are the most common causes of suicide. Various studies with psychiatric interviews or depression scales show that physicians show depressive symptoms significantly more often than the general population (23-31% of physicians in the first year of their residency show depressive symptoms compared to 15% of the general population of the same age), whereby physicians are particularly at risk of depression. The extremely high workload in the medical profession and the fatigue due to overtime and lack of sleep are blamed for this. Regarding substance abuse, it is worth noting that 10-15% of medical professionals will have problems with alcohol and other drugs at some point in their lives.
Possible work-related influences
Doctors are under enormous stress: countless hours of overtime and the constant confrontation with suffering and death, the increased stress level and burnout symptoms bring doctors to the edge of their resilience. Doctors experience a responsibility for life and death, while at the same time being aware of the limits of medical action. Most doctors experience no support in this situation, they are neither prepared for this responsibility nor do they receive psychological support. The authors complain that there is no professional group with such a level of responsibility and at the same time such neglected support from outside.
Doctors often do not seek help, although of course you have access to professional help. On the one hand, they have to fear that the treating doctor will see them more as a colleague than as a patient, which may stand in the way of adequate therapy, on the other hand, in some cases their license to practice medicine is at stake. Physicians who consult a colleague and report major depression with suicidality and substance abuse may be at the end of their professional career for the time being.
Prof. Reimer from the Clinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy at the University of Gießen examined suicidality among doctors in a meta-study and came to results that stimulate reflection and rethinking. The study was published in the journal Psychiatrische Praxis from Georg Thieme Verlag (Psychiat Prax 2005; 32: 381-385).
Cold numbers
Empirically proven, physicians have a higher suicide rate than the general population. According to the results of 14 international studies, the suicide rates are 1.3-3.4 times higher, and for medical professionals even 2.5-5.7 times higher than for comparable non-medical professionals. Interestingly, the gender distribution among doctors is "balanced", while in the general population men commit suicide 2.5 times more often than women.
In a Norwegian study, a quarter of the medical professionals stated that they sometimes or often had the feeling that life was no longer worth living. One in ten of those surveyed even had serious suicidal intentions. A German study produced even more frightening results: half of the doctors stated that they had already had suicidal intentions in their lives, two thirds believe it is possible that they will commit suicide in the future.
The most commonly affected specialty
Most commonly, psychiatrists and anesthesiologists kill themselves. The meta-study does not allow any statement to be made as to why these two occupational groups in particular commit suicide so frequently. One speculation would be that anesthesiologists have the most experience with potentially lethal drugs and are most likely to have them available to them. In the case of psychiatrists, two variations are conceivable. Is the constant confrontation with suicidality the cause? Could the high suicide rate be due to the fact that people with a high level of sensitivity choose to become psychiatrists? It should be emphasized that this is pure speculation and not based on scientific knowledge.
About the causes
Depressive disorders and substance abuse are the most common causes of suicide. Various studies with psychiatric interviews or depression scales show that physicians show depressive symptoms significantly more often than the general population (23-31% of physicians in the first year of their residency show depressive symptoms compared to 15% of the general population of the same age), whereby physicians are particularly at risk of depression. The extremely high workload in the medical profession and the fatigue due to overtime and lack of sleep are blamed for this. Regarding substance abuse, it is worth noting that 10-15% of medical professionals will have problems with alcohol and other drugs at some point in their lives.
Possible work-related influences
Doctors are under enormous stress: countless hours of overtime and the constant confrontation with suffering and death, the increased stress level and burnout symptoms bring doctors to the edge of their resilience. Doctors experience a responsibility for life and death, while at the same time being aware of the limits of medical action. Most doctors experience no support in this situation, they are neither prepared for this responsibility nor do they receive psychological support. The authors complain that there is no professional group with such a level of responsibility and at the same time such neglected support from outside.
Doctors often do not seek help, although of course you have access to professional help. On the one hand, they have to fear that the treating doctor will see them more as a colleague than as a patient, which may stand in the way of adequate therapy, on the other hand, in some cases their license to practice medicine is at stake. Physicians who consult a colleague and report major depression with suicidality and substance abuse may be at the end of their professional career for the time being.
