All causes of death among veterinarians in the United States during 1979 through 2015.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Edwards, Nicole T. ; Fechter-Leggett, Ethan D. ; Nett, Randall J. ; Reddish AD ; Tomasi, Suzanne E.
• Description:
  OBJECTIVE: To assess proportionate mortality from all causes for male and female US veterinarians during 1979 through 2015. SAMPLE: Death records for 11,620 veterinarians. PROCEDURES: For this proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) study, 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 all causes stratified by sex and indirectly standardized for age, race, and 5-year calendar period with 95% CIs. RESULTS: 11,620 decedents consisted of 11,049 (95%) males and 571 (5%) females with a median age at death of 77 years. Proportionate mortality for all veterinarian decedents was higher than expected for melanoma (PMRs, 2.1 and 2.2 for males and females, respectively), suicide (PMRs, 2.1 and 3.5 for males and females, respectively), and transportation injuries (PMRs, 1.7 and 1.6 for males and females, respectively). Proportionate mortality for all decedents was lower than expected for respiratory cancers (PMRs, 0.6 and 0.5 for males and females, respectively), diabetes mellitus (PMRs, 0.7 and 0.4 for males and females, respectively), heart disease (PMRs, 0.9 and 0.6 for males and females, respectively), and respiratory disorders (PMRs, 0.7 and 0.6 for males and females, respectively). CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicated proportionate mortality from malignant melanoma, transportation injuries, and suicide for male and female veterinarians was higher than the general population. These data may help stakeholders improve veterinarian workplace safety and health guidelines. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Health Personnel Mental Health Mortality Neoplasms Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Skin Skin Diseases Suicide Transportation Veterinarians

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• Keywords:
  Veterinarians; Mortality rates; Death certificates; Epidemiology; Suicide; Skin cancer; Transportation; Mental health
• 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:
  1-10
• Volume:
  260
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065494
• Citation:
  J Am Vet Med Assoc 2022 Jun; 260(9):1-10
• Contact Point Address:
  Suzanne E. Tomasi, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, Epidemic Intelligence Service, Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services, CDC, Atlanta, GA
• Email:
  yxc4@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• 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-512:9ef54b0121b9b85d53bdf5585dac0adae563ca65bbac62150111f606fa8bf1b21bd052952a6632fa84ada811a63ca9a565424fc361c4ae924a78761d57197c48
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/248564/cdc_248564_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 448.48 KB ]