Of all the high-stress careers you could think of, being a veterinarian usually doesn’t spring to mind. But a new paper has revealed that veterinarians in Britain are four times as likely as the general public to commit suicide. According to the paper’s author Dr. David Bartram of the University of Southampton’s School of Medicine this means that veterinarians have the highest suicide rate of any other occupational group.

While the reasons for the increased suicide rate remain unclear, Dr. Bartram put forth a number of explanations.

• The stress begins while they’re still in training. Typically, entrance to veterinary schools is limited to high achievers, whose personality traits may include neurosis, conscientiousness and perfectionism, all risk factors for suicidal behaviors.

• Their working environment can be stressful, marked by long hours, high psychological demands, low levels of support from managers and high expectations from clients. Many work in solo practices, which can leave them professionally and socially isolated and therefore more vulnerable to depression and suicide.

• Ready access to lethal means and knowledge of how to apply them can also put them at risk. Veterinary clinics typically store lethal drugs, such as barbiturates, on premises. Thoughts of suicide, which are often impulsive, can be acted on immediately. At least half of the male veterinarians who committed suicide between 1982 and 1996 in England and Wales used barbiturates, the report said, with deliberate poisoning accounting for 80 to 90 percent of veterinarians’ suicides.

• Veterinarians may consider euthanasia to be a way of alleviating suffering and may therefore come to look upon it as a positive solution to their own difficulties.

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• “Suicide contagion” caused by direct or indirect exposure to suicides among colleagues may leave veterinarians more vulnerable to killing themselves.

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Although research on suicide rates by profession in the United States has been termed confusing and inconclusive (for instance, some say the highest rates can be found among physicians while others say dentists), similar results among veterinarians have been found in other countries. Bartram says the findings indicate a need for more studies into the actual risk factors at play and the development of programs to mitigate the problem. This information would likely be useful for other occupational groups with high suicide risk.