Citation

Isaacs KH. JAMA Intern. Med. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1829

PMID

32597922

Abstract

In Reply I sincerely thank Leung et al for taking the time to read and comment on my article.1 I chose to share my story precisely to inspire this type of nuanced discussion about the complexities of physician mental health and suicide.

There are certainly circumstances that necessitate discussion of suicide specifically, as opposed to mental health more broadly. This is particularly true for epidemiological research. Leung et al mention the commonly cited statistic that 300 to 400 physicians die by suicide each year, about double the rate of the general population, a figure that has been called into question.2,3 Indeed, Duarte et al4 recently published a meta-analysis of physician suicide rates revealing that male physicians had a reduced risk of suicide compared with men in the general population. While the metadata showed a higher risk of suicide in female physicians vs women overall, there was a large degree of heterogeneity within the studies, with the higher-quality studies showing no significant difference...

Language: en