Medical know-how raises suicide risk for doctors
(AP)
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080508/ap_on_he_me/doctor_suicides"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080508/capt.f93a4f00ef5b46d59d59f21547b29396.doctor_suicides_ardj201.jpg?x=130&y=89&q=85&sig=v.X34XbLa3JrwlInsVckFg--" align="left" height="89" width="130" alt="Dr. Robert Lehmberg poses in a hallway at the Little Rock, Ark., Veterans Hospital Tuesday, April 29, 2008. Lehmberg says he has battled depression and long considered suicide 'an exit strategy if absolutely necessary.' About 300 or more U.S. doctors kill themselves each year. Doctors are particularly susceptible to the stubborn stigma of mental illness. Many fear admitting psychiatric problems could be professional suicide, so they suffer in silence. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)" border="0" /></a>AP - There's a grim, rarely talked-about twist to all that medical know-how doctors learn to save lives: It makes them especially good at ending their own. An estimated 300 to 400 U.S. doctors kill themselves each year ? a suicide rate thought to be higher than in the general population, although exact figures are hard to come by.</p><br clear="all"/>
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