An analysis that looked at 1.8 million employed adults in the U.S. found healthcare workers, registered nurses in particular, were at higher risk for suicide compared to non-healthcare workers.

The study, using data from the 2008 American Community Survey linked to National Death Index records through 2019, estimated suicide rates for six healthcare workers groups — physicians, registered nurses, other healthcare-diagnosing and treating practitioners, health technicians, healthcare support workers and social/behavioral health workers — compared to those not working in healthcare.

It found the standardized suicide rate ranged from 21.4 per 100,000 for healthcare support workers to 7.6 for healthcare-diagnosing and treating practitioners. The registered nurse rate was 16 per 100,000, the second highest in the survey.

The rate for non-healthcare workers was 12.6, similar to the 13.1 rate found among physicians. The study authors noted that while suicide rates among physicians may have fallen in recent decades, there has been less analysis of the rates among other healthcare workers.

“Our results extend earlier research from outside the United States that health care workers compared with non-healthcare workers have greater risks for mental health problems and long-term work absences due to mental disorders,” said Mark Olfson, MD, MPH, professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Public Health and professor of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “The importance of increased suicide risk of health care support workers is underscored by their growth from nearly 4 million in 2008 to 6.6 million in 2021.”

Olfson also recently published a paper indicating that registered nurses, social workers and behavioral health workers are also at a significantly greater risk of drug overdose death than non-healthcare workers.

The new analysis also found the suicide risk is higher among female healthcare workers, suggesting work roles, job satisfaction, and stress may weigh more heavily on women in these occupations.

“Heightened suicide risk for registered nurses, health care support workers, and health technicians highlights the need for concerted efforts to support their mental health,” the study concludes.