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[Addiction to drugs and alcohol among physicians and nurses]
Insights
Medical staff with alcohol and drug abuse experienced excessive mortality, particularly doctors. Survival was linked to substance abuse duration, mixed substance use, and prior suicide attempts.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Psychiatry
- Addiction Medicine
Context:
- Retrospective case-report study of medical staff (44 doctors, 23 nurses) treated for substance abuse between 1970-1982.
- Focus on long-term treatment (over six months) in a psychiatric department.
Purpose:
- To investigate mortality rates and prognostic factors in medical professionals with alcohol and drug abuse.
- To identify factors influencing survival duration in this specific patient group.
Summary:
- Excessive mortality was observed by 1987, with 50% of doctors dying by an average age of 45.5 years.
- Significant prognostic factors for survival included duration of substance abuse, concurrent alcohol and drug abuse, and history of suicide attempts.
Impact:
- Highlights the severe health risks and poor prognosis associated with substance abuse in the medical profession.
- Informs targeted interventions and support for healthcare workers struggling with addiction.
Abstract:
A retrospective investigation based on case reports was undertaken concerning abuse of alcohol and drugs among medical staff, 44 doctors and 23 nurses, who were treated in the Department of Psychiatry, Rigshospitalet during the period 1970-1982, all of whom received treatment for more than six months. By the end of 1987, a marked excessive mortality was found and this was greatest among doctors among whom 50% had died with an average age of 45.5 years. Factors which were found to be of significance for the prognosis for duration of survival in this selected material were 1) duration of the abuse of medicine, 2) presence of mixed alcohol and drug abuse and 3) previous suicidal attempts.