A recent study by epidemiologist Eva Schernhammer found that women physicians face a 24 percent elevated risk of suicide compared to the general population. The researchers examined studies published between 1960 and 31 March 2024.
While this is a ‘sobering figure’, it is a significant improvement over what the adjunct professor of epidemiology at Harvard Chan School discovered two decades ago. Then female doctors had 76 percent higher odds! Schernhammer first embarked on the research after losing close colleagues.
When asked what some of the factors contributing to these higher rates of suicide among female physicians might be, Schernhammer pointed to the double burden for women who work as physicians: balancing their work with the household. She also listed stress and burnout at work; things which apply to both men and women, but perhaps due to the added pressure on women it has a higher effect.
“Additionally,” she said, “sexual harassment was a big topic 20 years ago because there emerged some recent data showing that three-quarters of all women experienced some form of harassment in their job from their male colleagues.”
Read more: Interview with Eva Schernhammer. Female physicians have higher suicide rates — Harvard Gazette The full research article is available here Zimmermann C, Strohmaier S, Herkner H, Niederkrotenthaler T, Schernhammer E. Suicide rates among physicians compared with the general population in studies from 20 countries: gender stratified systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2024; 386 :e078964 doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-078964