Suicide Among Veterinarians in the United States from 1979 Through 2015

Details

• Personal Author:
  Crosby AE ; Edwards, Nicole T. ; Fechter-Leggett, Ethan D. ; Nett, Randall J. ; Reddish AD ; Tomasi, Suzanne E.
• Description:
  OBJECTIVE: To assess proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) for suicide among male and female US veterinarians from 1979 through 2015. DESIGN: PMR study. SAMPLE: Death records for 11,620 veterinarians. PROCEDURES: Information for veterinarians who died during 1979 through 2015 was obtained from AVMA obituary and life insurance databases and submitted to a centralized database of US death records to obtain underlying causes of death. Decedent data that met records-matching criteria were imported into a software program for calculation of PMRs for suicide stratified by sex and indirectly standardized for age, race, and 5-year calendar period with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: 398 deaths resulted from suicide; 326 (82%) decedents were male, 72 (18%) were female, and most (298 [75%]) were = 65 years of age. The PMRs for suicide for all veterinarian decedents (2.1 and 3.5 for males and females, respectively), those in clinical positions (2.2 and 3.4 for males and females, respectively), and those in nonclinical positions (1.8 and 5.0 for males and females, respectively) were significantly higher than for the general US population. Among female veterinarians, the percentage of deaths by suicide was stable from 2000 until the end of the study, but the number of such deaths subjectively increased with each 5-year period. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results of the study indicated that PMRs for suicide of female as well as male veterinarians were higher than for the general population. These data may help to inform stakeholders in the creation and implementation of suicide prevention strategies designed for veterinarians. A higher-than-expected number of deaths from suicide among veterinarians has been described in multiple studies from Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom. In 1982, investigations of deaths due to any cause for US veterinarians who died during the years 1947 through 1977 found that the PMR for suicide among white male veterinarians was 1.7 times that of the general US population. Another study of male and female veterinarians in California who died during 1960 through 1992 determined the PMR for suicide among California veterinarians was 2.6 times that of the general population. Evidence from surveys of veterinarians also suggests veterinarians have a higher risk of suicide, compared with the general population. In 2014, a survey of 11,627 US veterinarians found 9% had current serious psychological distress, 31% had experienced depressive episodes, and 17% had experienced suicidal ideation since leaving veterinary school; each of these is a risk factor for suicide and each was more prevalent than in the general population. Other regional surveys supported these findings by describing higher levels of anxiety, depression, and compassion fatigue among veterinarians, compared with US regional populations. Furthermore, a study of veterinary surgeons from the United Kingdom found higher levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, compared with the general population. The 1982 study of deaths among US veterinarians included only males, and most of those veterinarians practiced food animal medicine. However, the demographics in the veterinary profession have changed substantially over the past 3 decades. Beginning in the late 1980s, the number of female veterinary students began exceeding the number of male veterinary students. In 2017, over 60% of 110,531 US veterinarians were female, and in 2016, approximately 80% of students enrolled at US veterinary medical colleges were female. Additionally, in the past 50 years, society has moved away from an agriculture-based culture, and companion animals have become increasingly popular.27,28 Since 2007, the number of companion animal practitioners has steadily increased. In 2017, > 75% of US veterinarians practicing clinical medicine worked exclusively or predominantly in companion animal medicine. Understanding the PMRs for suicide among male and female US veterinarians in the context of the changing demographics and species specialization in the veterinary profession could help inform suicide prevention activities as part of a profession-wide and comprehensive suicide prevention strategy. The purpose of the study reported here was to conduct an updated assessment of PMRs for suicide among male US veterinarians and, for the first time to the authors' knowledge, to investigate PMRs for suicide among female US veterinarians. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Demography Environmental Exposure Fatigue Health Personnel Men Mental Disorders Mental Health Morbidity Mortality Nervous System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Suicide Veterinarians Women

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• Keywords:
  Age Groups Death Certificates Demographic Characteristics Exposure Levels Fatalities Humans Mental Disorders Mental Health Morbidity Rates Mortality Rates Psychological Effects Psychological Factors Psychological Stress Psychology Risk Factors Statistical Analysis

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• ISSN:
  0003-1488
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Illinois ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  104-112
• Volume:
  254
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054178
• Citation:
  J Am Vet Med Assoc 2019 Jan; 254(1):104-112
• Contact Point Address:
  Suzanne E. Tomasi, DVM, MPH, Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC, 1095 Willowdale Rd., Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  yxc4@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b57e49b37837d4dca8bb638fa63fd87aad17b7c03eef9f8776d2e33bf86d0d2be74c5e63b47e68b33f66d47c58fc46a6c4a77be11cb4bb92d9ad2e8f25bb8762
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216793/cdc_216793_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 527.46 KB ]