The risk of suicide among women employed in any health profession is higher than for women in other occupations, new research shows.
The nationwide study from Deakin University and the University of Melbourne found that of 9828 suicides during 2001 and 2012 almost 4 percent were by health professionals.
Females working in the health professions were particularly at risk, the researchers found.
The age-standardised rate of suicide among female health professionals was 6.4 per 100 000 person-years for medical practitioners, 8.2 per 100 000 person-years for midwives and nurses, and 4.5 per 100 000 person-years for other health professionals.
This compared with 2.8 per 100 000 person-years for women in other occupations