New study shows increased suicide risk among healthcare workers
A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that healthcare 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 healthcare 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 per cent higher risk of suicide compared to non-healthcare workers.
Physicians had a 57 per cent higher risk, and among them, psychiatrists stood out with an almost threefold increase in risk.
”Previous studies have mostly focused on physiciansand often compared them to the general population, which may have underestimated their risk due to socio-economic differences. This study compared individuals with similar professional levels, which showed that physicianshave 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 healthcare, including administrative staff. The study also highlights that administrative staff in healthcare do not have a higher risk of suicide.
See the study for funders and any conflicts of interest.
Publication
”Healthcare occupations, suicides, and suicide attempts: A cohort study based on the working population in Sweden”, Alicia Nevriana, Emma Brulin, Tomas Hemmingsson, Melody Almroth, Kuan-Yu Pan, Theo Bodin, Katarina Kjellberg, Daniel Falkstedt, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, online July 20, 2025, doi: 10.1111/acps.70018.