April 2025 - Claudia Zimmermann

English subtitles on Youtube available: click on the gear icon and select “Untertitel” – “English”

Mag. Dr. Claudia Zimmermann, MSc

MedUni Wien RESEARCHER OF THE MONTH April 2025

The suicide risk of physicians has long been a topic of concern, and older studies suggest a relatively high suicide rate with gender differences. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined suicide rates among male and female physicians compared to the general population. Our findings indicate that female physicians have a significantly higher suicide risk than the general population, whereas no significant difference was found for male physicians. However, the excess suicide risk among both female and male physicians has declined over time. These results suggest that although progress has been made, suicide remains a critical issue, particularly for female physicians. Targeted prevention strategies and mental health support tailored to the unique challenges of the medical profession are essential to further reduce suicide risk in physicians.

Selected Literature

1. Zimmermann C, Strohmaier S, Herkner H, Niederkrotenthaler T, Schernhammer E. Suicide rates among physicians compared to the general population: gender-stratified meta-analysis of studies from 20 countries. BMJ. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-078964.

2. Schernhammer ES, Colditz GA. Suicide rates among physicians: a quantitative and gender assessment (meta-analysis). Am J Psychiatry 2004;161:2295-302. https://doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.161.12.2295.

3. Harvey SB, Epstein RM, Glozier N, et al. Mental illness and suicide among physicians. Lancet 2021;398:920-30. https://doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01596-8.

4. Petrie K, Crawford J, Baker STE, et al. Interventions to reduce symptoms of common mental disorders and suicidal ideation in physicians: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Psychiatry 2019;6:225-34. https://doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30509-1.

5. Dong M, Zhou FC, Xu SW, et al. Prevalence of suicide-related behaviors among phy-sicians: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Suicide Life Threat Behav 2020;50:1264-75. https://doi:10.1111/sltb.12690.

6. Zimmermann C, Strohmaier S, Niederkrotenthaler T, Thau K, Schernhammer E. Suicide mortality among physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and pharmacists as well as other high-skilled occupations in Austria from 1986 through 2020. Psychiatry Res 2023;323:115170. https://doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115170.