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RESEARCH: Joan M Brewster, I Michael Kaufmann, Sarah Hutchison, and Cynthia MacWilliam Characteristics and outcomes of doctors in a substance dependence monitoring programme in Canada: prospective descriptive study BMJ 2008; 337: a2098 [Abstract] [Full text]

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Suicide and drug dependence

Vasudevan E Krishnan   (4 November 2008)

Suicide and drug dependence 4 November 2008
Vasudevan E Krishnan, Foundation Year 2 Doctor Claremont Bank Surgery,Shrewsbury,SY1 1RL Send response to journal: Re: Suicide and drug dependence	Interesting!Drug dependence would be quite high in doctors due to the easy availability of medications.I was wondering which field of doctors would be more prone as far as medication misuse and dependence were concerned.My guess would be anaethesiologists and palliative care specialists. Suicide is probable consequence of drug depence habits.Suicide rates have been noted to be higher among physicians when compared to other professionals.Also it is seen to be higher in females than males but apparently males are more prone to complete a suicide attempt when looking at total number of attempts on both sexes. Competing interests: None declared