Suicide and Occupation: Is There a Relationship?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boxer, Peter A. ; Burnett CA ; Swanson, Naomi G.
• Description:
  Suicide was the eighth leading cause of death in the United States in 1988. Epidemiologic studies have identified generally accepted demographic risk factors for suicide, including age, race, and sex. While occupation has long been considered a risk factor for suicide, studies of the relationship between specific occupations and suicide risk have yielded conflicting results. We reviewed the literature of the last decade on suicide and occupation, including studies focusing on suicide in specific occupational groups and studies which analyzed mortality from all causes in a defined community or working population. The most recent studies examining the relationship of occupation to suicide on a national level were based on U.S. death certificate data from 1950. One or more studies have found an elevated risk of suicide in actors, automobile mechanics, chemical workers, chemists, dentists, farmers, forestry workers, highway maintenance workers, nurses, physicians, police officers, social workers, tobacco industry workers, and veterinarians. However, because of methodological problems in many of these studies, no firm conclusions can be drawn regarding suicide risk for occupations other than physicians. The weight of currant evidence supports the conclusion that both male and female physicians have elevated rates of suicide. Additionally, while most studies of suicide focus on highly educated professional groups, the majority of recent studies suggest an inverse relationship between suicide rates and socioeconomic status. The purpose of our study was to examine the relationship of occupation to suicide risk in white males using recent data for a wide geographical area of the United States. The study is based on occupation-coded death certificate data from 23 states from 1984-1988. Death certificates collect information on the usual occupation of the decadent. Occupation was coded according to the 1980 Bureau of the Census classification system. A case-control study was designed with cases being all white males 15-64 years of age whose underlying cause of death was reported as suicide. Controls were decadents with any natural cause of death. Age-adjusted odds ratios were computed for both broad and detailed occupational categories. Odds ratios for eight broad occupational categories ranged from 0.85 (95% CI=0.79-0.92) for executive, administrative, and managerial occupations and 0.96 (95% CI = 0.89-1.05) for professional specialty occupations to 1.27 (95% CI =1.15-1.39) for farming, fishing, and forestry occupations and 1.29 (95% CI=1.23-1.35) for precision production, craft, and repair occupations. Detailed occupations with at least a 50% increased odds of death from suicide included physicians (OR=2.44; 95% CI=1.70- 3.49), security and financial service sales occupations (OR=2.65; 95% CI=1.40-5.02), automobile body and related repairers (OR=1.54; 95% CI=1.10-2.15), carpet installers (OR=1 .74; 95% CI=1.12-2.68), carpenters (OR= 1.60; 95% CI=1.41-1.81), insulation workers (OR=1.97; 95% CI=1 .02- 3.79), punching and stamping press machine operators (OR=1.66; 95% CI= 1.02-2.71), and winding and twisting machine operators (OR=2.62; 95% CI=1.20-5.74). The study suggests that the risk of suicide is not uniform across occupations. Occupations with high risk are found in various socioeconomic groups. The results of this study may be used to target occupations for mental health research and prevention activities. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Stress, Psychological Suicide
• Keywords:
  Job Stress Mental Health Occupations Psychological Effects Psychological Stress Risk Factors
• Publisher:
  American Psychological Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  85
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059020
• Citation:
  Stress in the 90's: a Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace, November 20-22, 1992, Washington, D.C. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 1992 Nov; :85
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Stress in the 90's: a Changing Workforce in a Changing Workplace, November 20-22, 1992, Washington, D.C.
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:113fbb86f767c50b96a3c81dd0400dd424da8c508fdaa62ce65db4f74ec9f91142e1224a0a97ecd0c1a64e679073a0d90ca23087ad8c4b6bd050d48696dfbefe
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223354/cdc_223354_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 238.17 KB ]