A person’s job and gender may determine how likely they are to commit suicide, according to a report from the Center for Disease Control. Women in law enforcement, for instance, commit suicide at a higher rate than women in any other occupation.
The CDC analyzed data from 2o12 and found women in protective services, like police officers and firefighters, commit suicide at a higher rate than women in other professional groups. For every 100,000 women in protective services, 14.1 committed suicide in 2012.
The CDC says “higher suicide rates among police are related to stressors including exposure to traumatic, violent, and lethal situations; work overload; shift work; and access to lethal means.”
While trauma and exposure to violence is a factor in suicides, the study did compare suicide rates among military personnel to civilians. It was too difficult to separate active duty from reservist and retired military personnel, the authors said.