subject: Surgeons More Plagued With Suicidal Thoughts--study [print this page] The study found that nearly one in 16 surgeons was plagued with suicidal thoughts in the previous year, but fear of losing their job deterred them from seeking psychiatric help for mental health problems.
Lead author Dr Tait Shanafelt director of the Mayo Clinic Department of Medicine Program on Physician Well-Being, Rochester, Minnesota, stated, "The fact that 6% of US surgeons thought of killing themselves in the last 12 months is certainly very concerning.
The surprise finding was that older surgeons were more inclined towards self destruction. The study found surgeons aged 45 and older had 1.5 to three times the rate of suicidal ideation compared to the older members of the general population.
Members of the American College of Surgeons surveyed
In order to assess burnout and the quality of life, the researchers carried out an anonymous survey of the members of the American College of Surgeons in 2008.
Nearly 8,000 completed the survey. It was noted that 501 of the respondents (6 percent) reported recent suicidal thoughts.
The surprise finding was that older surgeons were more inclined towards self destruction. The study found surgeons aged 45 and older had 1.5 to three times the rate of suicidal ideation compared to the older members of the general population.
It is "notable "that although individuals age 45 to 54 in the general population have a lower risk of suicidal ideation than younger individuals the reverse appears to be true for surgeons," stated Dr. Shanafelt.
The research found that risk of suicidal thoughts was higher in those unmarried, childless and divorced. However, there was no gender variation in the rates of suicidal ideation among surgeons.
It was noted that only 130 surgeons (26 percent) contemplating suicide had sought help from a psychiatrist or psychologist.
In addition, 301 physicians (60.1 percent) refrained from getting treatment for depression out of fears that it might affect their medical license.
The study also found that among the 405 surgeons who had used antidepressants recently, nearly 41 (8.9 percent) had self-prescribed the drugs, while 34 (7.4 percent) had received the prescription from a friend who was not officially their physician.
The researchers declared, "The perception of having made a major medical error in the previous three months was associated with a three-fold increased risk of suicidal ideation, with 16.2 percent of surgeons who reported a recent major error experiencing suicidal ideation compared with 5.4 percent of surgeons not reporting an error.
Contributing factors to suicide in surgeons
According to experts, this different attitude towards life and death may be attributed to long working hours, high psychological demands, medical errors, depression and lack of managerial support.
Suicidal thoughts were also triggered by distress, depression and job burnout.
Dr. Shanafelt stated, This observation suggests that other factors may contribute to the increased risk of suicide among physicians.
"Access to lethal medication and knowledge how to use them has been suggested as one factor; however, the influence of professional characteristics and forms of distress other than depression (e.g., burnout) are largely unexplored.
A full report on the study is published in the January edition of the 'Archives of Surgery.'
