Depressed mood, mental health issues, and job problems are all associated with physician suicides.
Suicide rates for female physicians in the United States between 2017-2021 were 47% higher than for women in the general population, results of a retrospective cohort study showed.
Unlike their female counterparts, male physicians had a lower rate for suicide relative to the general male population.
Physicians and Suicide Report 2025 showed that at least 1 in 6 physicians surveyed had contemplated or attempted suicide.
And nearly 40% of respondents said they knew at least one doctor who had experienced suicidal ideation.
The elevated risk for depression among US physicians is well established and studies have suggested suicide risk is higher among doctors than other professionals.
The suicide risk was 47% higher among female physicians than female general population.
During the same period, male physicians had a 16% lower risk for suicide than male nonphysicians.
The elevated rates of suicide among female physicians is similar to what he and his colleagues found in a similar study of suicide among nurses.
And several international meta-analyses and systematic reviews had the same finding, although none were definitive.
Contributors to this situation include under-recognition for similar work and achievements, inequitable pay and opportunities for promotion, greater domestic responsibilities leading to work-life imbalance, and risk of sexual harassment.
Women in the general population face many of the same challenges.
Compared with the general population, physicians who died by suicide were more likely to have a history of depression, mental health problems, job problems and legal problems.
The most frequently used primary method of suicide for male physicians was firearms, whereas poisoning was the most common method used by female physicians.
Overall, suicide by poisoning and sharp instruments was significantly more likely among physicians than suicide among nonphysicians.
Physicians die by suicide at higher rates than the general population. High work demands and long hours Exposure to trauma and suffering Difficulty seeking help due to stigma Access to lethal means Burnout and moral injury Fear of professional consequences if mental health issues are disclosed
Warning signs include withdrawal from colleagues, changes in work performance, expressions of hopelessness, or increased substance use.
Physicians have a significantly higher odds of using benzodiazepines, anxiolytics, nonbenzodiazepines, or hypnotics than the general population.
They also were more apt to use opiates/opioids,cardiovascular agents, antidiabetic agents and drugs not prescribed for home use, which includes drugs likely diverted from a clinical setting, including opiates.
Reducing stigma could help lower suicide risk among physicians.
The demands of work and family among female physicians are severe: almost three quarters of female physicians apparently reduce their work hours to part-time or consider part-time work within 6 years of completing training.
There is disproportionately high rates of sexual harassment in medicine and persistent gender inequities in promotion and pay.
Improving access to quality childcare options and improved parental leave policies could also reduce female physician suicide rate.