Racial, Gender Health Disparities Notable Among Physicians

Background: Information on health care worker mortality is limited and outdated. Recent stresses on the health care system and the growing need for workers highlight the importance of a healthy workforce. Objective: To analyze mortality among health care and non–health care workers. Design: Cross-sectional analysis. Methods: Data were extracted from the National Vital Statistics System and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for U.S. workers aged 25 to 74 years who died between 2020 and 2022. Cause of death was linked to occupation provided on death certificates. Results: Health care workers generally had lower mortality per 100,000 workers than did non–health care workers matched for income (mortality rate ratio [MRR]). Health services managers, registered nurses, and support workers were exceptions. Physicians experienced the lowest MRR across all top causes of death. Although suicide was the 5th leading cause of death among physicians, their suicide rat more...