Depression Stands Out in Physician Suicides
Finding the right depression management strategy is just as challenging when the patient is a doctor.
At this year’s European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Annual Congress in Paris, a multidisciplinary team from the national mental health institute of Peru undertook a surprisingly thorough study of completed suicides among physicians in their country over the past decade.
Here are some of their findings:
- Eight completed suicides, six men and two women
- Six were diagnosed with major depressive disorder. All six had been on an irregular medication regimen for at least a year prior to their suicides, and two had histories of psychoactive substance abuse.
- Five were general practitioners, one was a psychiatrist, one was an ophthalmologist, and the specialty of one was not mentioned.
The methods of suicides were quite diverse. The two women used pesticides. Among the men, two fell from heights (one jumped, one rolled) two drank poisons, one shot himself, and one overdosed on his own prescription.
Three of the victims left suicide notes. Additional data about the individuals came from reviews of clinical records and interviews with friends and relatives. Based on this information, potential stressors that pushed the victims to suicides included romantic disappointments in three cases, adaptation problems in three other cases, complicated bereavement in one case, and failure to earn a residency in another case.
Although eight suicides over a 10-year period is a tiny proportion of practicing physicians, the findings do seem to emphasize the importance of identifying depression in doctors, and treating it early and effectively. After all, doctors are people, too.
—Heidi Splete (on twitter @hsplete)