Psychiatric disorders among professional women.
A group of 111 women physicians and 103 women PhDs, selected from the general community, were studied for the presence of psychiatric illness. Fifty-one percent of the MDs and 32% of the PhDs were diagnosed as having primary affective disorder (P less than .01). Other psychiatric disorders were found in less than 10% of each group. Depression among the psychiatrists was significantly more common (73%) than among the other physicians (46%). More than 50% of all the women reported prejudice in training or employment, and depressed subjects reported prejudice more often than well subjects. The presence of children and depression were shown to disrupt a woman's professional career. The finding of a high prevalence of affective disorder among women physicians is consistent with the reported excessive suicide risk for this group.
D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D002322:Career Mobility; D003863:Depression / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008511:Medicine; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008923:Missouri; D010822:Physicians, Women; D011287:Prejudice; D013038:Specialization