Female doctors in the UK are at an increased risk of suicide, according to research published today. The suicide rate of female doctors was higher than in the general population, while the rate in male doctors was less.
Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford identified doctors in the UK National Health Service who died by suicide between 1979 and 1995. They found the suicide rate in female doctors was twice that of women in the general population.
Although men have a higher suicide rate in the general population, the rate of male doctors was two-thirds that of men generally. This is in contrast with previously published studies from other countries which found a small increased risk in male medical practitioners.
The authors, who report their findings in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, recorded a significant difference in suicide rates between medical specialities. Anaesthetists, community health doctors, general practitioners and psychiatrists were more likely to commit suicide than those working in general medicine.
Both female and male doctors use self-poisoning for suicide more often than the general public. This reflects the ease of access to, and knowledge of, drugs suitable for self-harm.
However, the authors of the study suggest that the stresses facing female doctors are a factor in the higher rates in this group. They say this increased risk requires particular monitoring in the light of the large increase in the numbers of women entering medicine.