TY - JOUR
T1 - Suicidal Ideation and Attitudes Regarding Help Seeking in US Physicians Relative to the US Working Population
AU - Shanafelt, Tait D.
AU - Dyrbye, Lotte N.
AU - West, Colin P.
AU - Sinsky, Christine
AU - Tutty, Michael
AU - Carlasare, Lindsey E.
AU - Wang, Hanhan
AU - Trockel, Mickey
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
PY - 2021/8
Y1 - 2021/8
N2 - Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of suicidal ideation (SI) and attitudes regarding help seeking among US physicians relative to the general US working population. Participants and Methods: A secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey of US physicians and a probability-based sample of the US working population was conducted between October 12, 2017, and March 15, 2018. Among 30,456 invited physicians, 5197 (17.1%) completed the primary survey. Suicidal ideation in the last year, attitudes regarding help seeking, symptoms of depression, and burnout were assessed by standardized questions. Results: Among the 4833 physicians who responded regarding SI, 316 (6.5%) reported having suicidal thoughts in the last 12 months. Most physicians (3527 [72.9%]) reported that they would seek professional help if they had a serious emotional problem. Physicians with SI were less likely to report that they would seek help (203/316 [64.2%]) than physicians without SI (3318/4517 [73.5%]; P=.001). On multivariable analysis, symptoms of depression (odds ratio [OR], 4.42; 95% CI, 1.89 to 11.52), emotional exhaustion (OR, 1.07 each 1-point increase; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.11), and self-valuation (OR, 0.84 each 1-point increase; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.99) were associated with SI. Among individuals aged 29 to 65 years, physicians were more likely than workers in other fields to report SI (7.1% vs 4.3%; P<.001), a finding that persisted on multivariable analysis. Conclusion: In this national study conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 15 US physicians had thoughts of taking their own life in the last year, which exceeded the prevalence of SI among US workers in other fields.
AB - Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of suicidal ideation (SI) and attitudes regarding help seeking among US physicians relative to the general US working population. Participants and Methods: A secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey of US physicians and a probability-based sample of the US working population was conducted between October 12, 2017, and March 15, 2018. Among 30,456 invited physicians, 5197 (17.1%) completed the primary survey. Suicidal ideation in the last year, attitudes regarding help seeking, symptoms of depression, and burnout were assessed by standardized questions. Results: Among the 4833 physicians who responded regarding SI, 316 (6.5%) reported having suicidal thoughts in the last 12 months. Most physicians (3527 [72.9%]) reported that they would seek professional help if they had a serious emotional problem. Physicians with SI were less likely to report that they would seek help (203/316 [64.2%]) than physicians without SI (3318/4517 [73.5%]; P=.001). On multivariable analysis, symptoms of depression (odds ratio [OR], 4.42; 95% CI, 1.89 to 11.52), emotional exhaustion (OR, 1.07 each 1-point increase; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.11), and self-valuation (OR, 0.84 each 1-point increase; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.99) were associated with SI. Among individuals aged 29 to 65 years, physicians were more likely than workers in other fields to report SI (7.1% vs 4.3%; P<.001), a finding that persisted on multivariable analysis. Conclusion: In this national study conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 15 US physicians had thoughts of taking their own life in the last year, which exceeded the prevalence of SI among US workers in other fields.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.mayocp.2021.01.033
DO - 10.1016/j.mayocp.2021.01.033
M3 - Article
C2 - 34301399
AN - SCOPUS:85111510373
SN - 0025-6196
VL - 96
SP - 2067
EP - 2080
JO - Mayo Clinic proceedings
JF - Mayo Clinic proceedings
IS - 8
ER -