Results of an anonymous online survey conducted by researchers from Harvard have revealed that many airline pilots suffer from depression and some have suicidal thoughts.
More Than 4 Percent Of Pilots Have Suicidal Thoughts
In the study published in the journal Environmental Health on Dec. 15, Alex Wu and colleagues reported that of the 1,800 airline pilots they surveyed, 200 likely suffer from depressive symptoms and 75 reported having suicidal thoughts.
"This study found 233 (12.6%) airline pilots meeting depression threshold and 75 (4.1%) pilots reporting having suicidal thoughts," Wu and colleagues wrote in their study. "Although results have limited generalizability, there are a significant number of active pilots suffering from depressive symptoms."
The study highlights the mental health issues and the associated dangers these pose in the airline industry but it isn't just the airplane pilots who suffer from depressive symptoms. Other occupations also have high incidence of depression and suicidal tendencies.
Occupations In The United States With High Suicide Rates
In a federal study published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) in July this year, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have revealed that manual laborers who were likely to work in isolation and face unsteady employment had the highest suicide rate in the United States.
The researchers found that lumberjacks, fishermen, farmers, carpenters, miners, people who work in construction and electricians have high incidence of suicide.
Risk Factors For Depressive Symptoms
Study researcher Wendy LiKamWa McIntosh, from CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, and colleagues said that the increased risk among particular groups of workers could be due to long term exposure to chemicals that can cause neurotoxic damage, memory impairment, and depressive symptoms.
Chronic exposure of farmers to pesticides, for instance, may influence their neurologic system, which could be a risk factor for depressive symptoms.
"Occupational groups with higher suicide rates might be at risk for a number of reasons, including job-related isolation and demands, stressful work environments, and work-home imbalance, as well as socioeconomic inequities, including lower income, lower education level, and lack of access to health services," the report read.
Other occupations that made it to CDC's suicide list were architect and engineers; those in protective services such as police officers and firefighters; artists, designers and those in the media industry; computer programmers and mathematicians; transportation workers, as well as corporate leaders.
Lawyers and those who work in legal system; healthcare professionals such as doctors and dentists; scientists and and laboratory technicians, also made it to the list.
