The American Medical Association has called physician suicide "an endemic catastrophe."
The overall U.S. suicide rate among men is four times higher than in women - about 23 per 100,000 versus about 6 per 100,000 in women, according to the most recent government data.
But among doctors, suicide rates are about equal for men and women.
A 28-state study from 1984-95 found women doctors were more than twice as likely as women in the general population to kill themselves. Men were more than 70 percent more likely inside the medical profession than overall to commit suicide.
One explanation is that most suicide attempts in the broader population are unsuccessful, while doctors know how to successfully commit suicide, said Dr. Erika Frank, who specializes in research on physician health.
More info on MSNBC.
Peter Rost M.D. also writes the Pharma Law blog and the Pharma Expert Witness blog.
