In the United States, women tend to live longer than men. However, this is not the case among the country’s physicians, according to a new study led by scholars at Harvard Medical School.
Using data from the National Vital Statistics System, the study authors analyzed information on the deaths and occupations of over 3.6 million adults between January 2020 and December 2022. Overall, healthcare workers had lower mortality rates than non-healthcare workers, and women in high-income, non-healthcare positions had lower mortality rates than men in high-income, non-healthcare positions.
However, within the healthcare profession, women’s mortality advantage was absent. Compared to their male counterparts, women physicians had higher mortality rates from neoplasms and chronic lower-respiratory diseases, despite lower mortality of these causes among women outside of the healthcare field. A similar disparity was found among Black physicians compared to their White counterparts – particularly among Black women physicians, who had higher mortality rates than all other physician subgroups, as well as White women in non-health care occupations.
While the authors could not identify a reason for the higher mortality rates among women physicians, they believe their findings suggest a need for more research and targeted interventions to address health inequities within the healthcare workforce.