Life expectancy of Physicians

[Tina_HP]

I was wondering what is the life expectancy of physicians in Canada?

[Microbiodude]

I'd imagine it would be the same if not a few years shorter than the nation's average life expectancy.

[leviathan]

Physicians have one of the longest life expectancies for all occupational groups. The highest positive predictive value for life expectancy is one's level of education.

 

Microbiodude, what made you think it was the opposite? I only know the above because someone with an MD after their name told me so, so I'm curious to know your reasoning. Were you thinking stress?

[future_doc]

leviathan: I read somewhere that physicians suffer from alcoholism to a greater extent than the overall population. I guess this is b/c of the occupational stress that physicians encounter. Also, I believe, there is a higher suicide rate than for others.

 

So, adding my two cents, and with no real backup, I tend to feel the same as Microbiodude. There is stress, depression, overworking. There is a change of attitude in the younger generation of doctors who want lifestyle and are not prepared to ensure the same personal sacrifices as the older generation of doctors.

[Microbiodude]

Physicians have one of the longest life expectancies for all occupational groups. The highest positive predictive value for life expectancy is one's level of education.

 

Microbiodude, what made you think it was the opposite? I only know the above because someone with an MD after their name told me so, so I'm curious to know your reasoning. Were you thinking stress?

 

Well the long work hours and work demands lead to higher emotional and physical stress. So this usually takes a toll in the form of cardiovascular disease and in some cases mental illness (citation needed). What was the guy with an MD citing?

 

I just remember the surgeons at the hospital I was volunteering at always complaining about how they're giong to die early because they had long on-call shifts and they couldn't eat on a regular schedule and when they could eat it was usually from the vending machines. I've been looking for studies on NCBI but haven't had any luck so far.

 

I can imagine their life expectancy can be longer as well, since MDs above all should be practicing what they preach right? But I know that is not always the case, and its pretty unrealistic for an MD to follow their own advice simply because of the time constraints and odd hours of work.

[Microbiodude]

leviathan: I read somewhere that physicians suffer from alcoholism to a greater extent than the overall population. I guess this is b/c of the occupational stress that physicians encounter. Also, I believe, there is a higher suicide rate than for others.

 

So, adding my two cents, and with no real backup, I tend to feel the same as Microbiodude. There is stress, depression, overworking. There is a change of attitude in the younger generation of doctors who want lifestyle and are not prepared to ensure the same personal sacrifices as the older generation of doctors.

 

I know my friend who interviewed at Queen's was told by the interviewer that the instructors encouraged this to some extent...perhaps to combat the above average alcoholism and depression?

[leviathan]

Well the long work hours and work demands lead to higher emotional and physical stress. So this usually takes a toll in the form of cardiovascular disease and in some cases mental illness (citation needed). What was the guy with an MD citing?

Yeah, I agree with what you're thinking too, but I guess overall the positive effects of education, wealth, and access to health care supercede the rest. There is a higher suicide rate amongst physicians, though! I heard physicians live the longest from my epidemiology professor, so she didn't really cite any sources in the lecture, but I assume she is giving credible info.

[Microbiodude]

ah okay, I'd say that's a credible source. That's pretty interesting.

[rmorelan]

Yeah, I agree with what you're thinking too, but I guess overall the positive effects of education, wealth, and access to health care supercede the rest. There is a higher suicide rate amongst physicians, though! I heard physicians live the longest from my epidemiology professor, so she didn't really cite any sources in the lecture, but I assume she is giving credible info.

 

You would also have to think doctors would be at least as knowledgable as any other group in terms of how to look after themselves.

 

Whether they do or not is of course another matter

[Wolvenstar]

Well if you think about it, Doctors are very well paid. There are some who can't manage the money, but generally doctors range from upper-middle class to high class in society. These people tend to have the highest life expectancy of all the classes. Given the change in attitude of doctors from the workaholics to the more family-centered doc, this is liable to increase. Then there are the benefits of being a doctor and having easier access to medicine and medical services.

[Laika]

Well the long work hours and work demands lead to higher emotional and physical stress. So this usually takes a toll in the form of cardiovascular disease and in some cases mental illness (citation needed). What was the guy with an MD citing?

 

Compared to other white, male professionals, physicians are twice as likely to commit suicide, about as likely to die from CVD, and less likely to die from the flu or AIDS. From Center et al., JAMA, June 18, 2003—Vol 289, No. 23. 3161-3166. The underlying causes are debatable, but the stats are interesting.

[leviathan]

I think the #1 factor is just level of education, which is independent of being a physican. But being a physician probably also has its perks, such as understanding health determinants better than the average person (and hopefully at least some of them follow their own understanding), and maybe identifying disease processes earlier in themselves. Just speculation....

[Wut?]

1 in 3 medical students in the United States suffer from some form of depression.

[mbene085]

1 in 3 medical students in the United States suffer from some form of depression.

 

What do you mean exactly by 'some form'? And to play devil's advocate, the US is so pill-happy that it's not hard to picture a stressed med student being sent home on effexor without a thorough psychiatric evaluation.

[kaymcee]

I found an article that addresses this, although it's only about white or black men:

 

Am J Prev Med 2000;19(3) 155-159.

 

Life expectancy is better as a physician than as a lawyer or other professional.

 

You're more likely to die of these things, as a physician, than the general population:

air/space transport accidents

drug-related causes (including suicide)

accidental poisonings

hepatitis (exclusive chronic non-viral)

suicide/self-inflicted injury (including from drugs)

malignant melanoma of the skin

Alzheimer's disease, pancreatic cancer

cerebrovascular disease

other (non-acute MI) ischemic heart disease

 

Less likely:

Alcoholism and alcohol-related deaths

Rectal, rectosigmoidal, anal cancer

Bacterial diseases

Respiratory disease (including pneumonia, pneumoconioses, COPD; excluding emphysema and other chronic airway obstruction)

[Wut?]

What do you mean exactly by 'some form'?

 

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/353/11/1085