Course: Suicide Risks of Health Care Workers in the US
CME Credits: 1.00
Released: 2023-09-26
Key Points
Question Are US health care workers at greater risk of suicide than non–health care workers?Findings From a nationally representative cohort of approximately 1.84 million employed adults observed from 2008 through 2019 and controlling for potentially confounding sociodemographic characteristics, the risk of suicide was higher for health care workers compared with non–health care workers including specifically registered nurses, health care support workers, and health technicians.
Meaning Heightened suicide risk for registered nurses, health care support workers, and health technicians highlights the need for concerted efforts to support their mental health.
Abstract
Importance Historically elevated risks of suicide among physicians may have declined in recent decades. Yet there remains a paucity of information concerning suicide risks among other health care workers.Objective To estimate risks of death by suicide among US health care workers.
Design, Setting, and Participants Cohort study of a nationally representative sample of workers from the 2008 American Community Survey (N?=-1,842,000) linked to National Death Index records through December 31, 2019.
Main Outcomes and Measures Age- and sex-standardized suicide rates were estimated for 6 health care worker groups (physicians, registered nurses, other health care–diagnosing or treating practitioners, health technicians, health care support workers, social/behavioral health workers) and non–health care workers. Cox models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) of suicide for health care workers compared with non–health care workers using adjusted HRs for age, sex, race and ethnicity, marital status, education, and urban or rural residence.
Results Annual standardized suicide rates per 100,000 persons (median age, 44 [IQR, 35-53] years; 32.4% female [among physicians] to 91.1% [among registered nurses]) were 21.4 (95% CI, 15.4-27.4) for health care support workers, 16.0 (95% CI, 9.4-22.6) for registered nurses, 15.6 (95% CI, 10.9-20.4) for health technicians, 13.1 (95% CI, 7.9-18.2) for physicians, 10.1 (95% CI, 6.0-14.3) for social/behavioral health workers, 7.6 (95% CI, 3.7-11.5) for other health care–diagnosing or treating practitioners, and 12.6 (95% CI, 12.1-13.1) for non–health care workers. The adjusted hazards of suicide were increased for health care workers overall (adjusted HR, 1.32 [95% CI, 1.13-1.54]), health care support workers (adjusted HR, 1.81 [95% CI, 1.35-2.42]), registered nurses (adjusted HR, 1.64 [95% CI, 1.21-2.23]), and health technicians (adjusted HR, 1.39 [95% CI, 1.02-1.89]), but adjusted hazards of suicide were not increased for physicians (adjusted HR, 1.11 [95% CI, 0.71-1.72]), social/behavioral health workers (adjusted HR, 1.14 [95% CI, 0.75-1.72]), or other health care–diagnosing or treating practitioners (adjusted HR, 0.61 [95% CI, 0.36-1.03) compared with non–health care workers (reference).
Conclusions Relative to non–health care workers, registered nurses, health technicians, and health care support workers in the US were at increased risk of suicide. New programmatic efforts are needed to protect the mental health of these US health care workers.
Educational Objective: To identify the key insights or developments described in this article.
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