Incidence of alcohol-related deaths in the veterinary profession in England and Wales, 1993–2005

• Published in: The veterinary journal (1997) Vol. 181; no. 3; pp. 332 - 335
• Main Authors: Mellanby, R.J., Platt, B., Simkin, S., Hawton, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2009
• Subjects: Alcohol; alcohol abuse; alcoholic beverages; Alcoholism - epidemiology; Alcoholism - mortality; Cause of Death; death; dentists; England - epidemiology; epidemiological studies; etiology; Female; health care workers; Humans; Incidence; lifestyle; longitudinal studies; Male; mortality; national surveys; physicians; population characteristics; Risk; risk factors; statistical analysis; Suicide; veterinarians; Veterinarians - psychology; Veterinary; veterinary medicine; Wales - epidemiology; England; Wales; Alcohol; Veterinary; Suicide; UK
• ISSN: 1090-0233; 1532-2971
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2008.04.006

It has recently been shown that the proportional mortality ratio for suicide by veterinarians is one of the highest of all occupational groups. The reasons for this alarming statistic are unclear although it has been postulated that alcohol or drug misuse may be significant risk factors which contribute towards the high incidence of suicide within the profession. However, there have been few studies on alcohol misuse by veterinarians and so the aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of alcohol-related deaths in the veterinary profession in England and Wales between 1993 and 2005. The proportional mortality ratio for alcohol-related deaths for veterinarians was not significantly higher than the general population during this time period. Future studies should focus on establishing the incidence of sub-lethal alcohol misuse within the veterinary profession.