The Risk

Drug addiction in anesthesia results in the loss of one's job, profession, family, and life. Sadly, loss of life may be the first indication that there is a problem. One cannot discuss the problem of drug addiction in anesthesia without addressing its risk to life. Numerous studies have examined the mortality risk of physicians in general^{[179] [180]} and anesthesiologists specifically^{[181] [182] [183]} versus that of the general population. It is not surprising that the death rate from all causes is lower among physicians than the general public. This difference is attributed to the lifestyle awareness among physicians that results in decreased rates of some destructive behavior such as smoking. The higher socioeconomic status of physicians and greater access to health care may also contribute to this advantage. Although the mortality risk for anesthesiologists is no higher than that for other medical specialties (in fact, it is lower in most studies), their risk of drug-related death and suicide is alarmingly high. In 1974, the age-adjusted rate of suicide reported among U.S. male anesthesiologists was three times that of male life insurance policy holders.^[184] Subsequent studies reported a twofold increase in suicide among U.S. white male anesthesiologists^[181] and British (mostly female) anesthetists when compared with appropriate population controls.^[180] A recent study in the United States reported the relative risk of suicide in anesthesiologists to be 1.45 in comparison to internists. The relative risk of a drug-related death was even higher at 2.79. All these studies identify drug-related death as a significant occupational hazard in the practice of anesthesia.