A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that health care workers in Sweden have a higher risk of suicide compared to other occupational groups with similar professional levels. The study highlights the risks for physicians, registered nurses, and assistant nurses in particular.
The study, published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, shows that health care workers, especially those working in patient care, have a significantly higher risk of suicide compared to other professions with similar professional qualifications.
Registered nurses had a 61% higher risk of suicide compared to non-health care workers.
Physicians had a 57% higher risk, and among them, psychiatrists stood out with an almost threefold increase in risk.
“Previous studies have mostly focused on physicians and often compared them to the general population, which may have underestimated their risk due to socioeconomic differences. This study compared individuals with similar professional levels, which showed that physicians have a significantly higher risk of suicide,” says first author Alicia Nevriana, postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.
The study included many different occupational roles within health care, including administrative staff. The study also highlights that administrative staff in health care do not have a higher risk of suicide.
More information:
Alicia Nevriana et al, Healthcare Occupations, Suicides, and Suicide Attempts: A Cohort Study Based on the Working Population in Sweden, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica (2025). DOI: 10.1111/acps.70018
Citation:
Increased suicide risk found among health care workers ( 28)
29
suicide-health-workers.html
The content is provided for information purposes only.