Prevalence of suicide-related behaviors among physicians

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An analysis of published studies has found a relatively high prevalence of suicidal behaviors among physicians. The findings are published in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.

The included 35 studies with a total of 70,368 physicians. The lifetime prevalence of suicidal thoughts was 17.4%, while the 1-year prevalence was 8.6%, 6-month prevalence was 11.9%, and 1-month prevalence was 8.6%. The lifetime prevalence of suicidal attempts was 1.8%, while the 1-year prevalence was 0.3%.

Geographic region was associated with lifetime and 1-year prevalence of suicidal thoughts—for example, rates were higher in Europe than in the United States.

More information: Min Dong et al, Prevalence of suicide‐related behaviors among physicians: A systematic review and meta‐analysis, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior (2020). DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12690

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Citation: Prevalence of suicide-related behaviors among physicians (2020, October 7) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-10-prevalence-suicide-related-behaviors-physicians.html
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