(HealthDay News) — Registered nurses, health technicians and healthcare support workers have an increased risk for suicide compared with non-healthcare workers, according to a study published in the Sept. 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Mark Olfson, MD, MPH, from Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City, and colleagues conducted a cohort study to estimate the risks for death by suicide among US healthcare workers using data from a sample of workers from the 2008 American Community Survey linked to death records through Dec. 31, 2019. Age- and sex-standardized suicide rates were estimated for six healthcare worker groups and non-health care workers.
The researchers found that the annual standardized suicide rates per 100,000 persons were 21.4, 16.0, 15.6, 13.1, 10.1, 7.6 and 12.6, respectively, for healthcare support workers, registered nurses, health technicians, physicians, social/behavioral health workers, other healthcare-diagnosing or treating practitioners, and non-healthcare workers. Compared with non-healthcare workers, the adjusted hazards of suicide were increased for healthcare workers overall and for healthcare support workers, registered nurses and health technicians, but they were not increased for physicians, social/behavioral health workers or other health care-diagnosing or treating practitioners.
“As the pandemic has receded, efforts to improve the mental health of healthcare workers could lose momentum,” the authors write. “The present analysis, which involves the period before the pandemic, underscores mental health risks for healthcare workers.”
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
