Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Sep 1;160(9):1032-1034.
doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2025.2482.

Mortality Among Surgeons in the United States

Vishal R Patel  1   2 , Stephen A Stearns  1   2   3 , Michael Liu  1 , Thomas C Tsai  1   2 , Anupam B Jena  1   3   4
Affiliations

Mortality Among Surgeons in the United States

Vishal R Patel et al. JAMA Surg. .
No abstract available

Plain language summary

This cross-sectional study examines mortality rates and leading causes of death among US surgeons compared with nonsurgeon physicians and other occupation groups.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Tsai reported receiving personal fees from Johnson & Johnson and Analysis Group and grants from Arnold Ventures and serving as medical director for health policy research for the American College of Surgeons outside the submitted work. Views expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not reflect the official views of the American College of Surgeons. Dr Jena reported receiving personal fees from Analysis Group; Doubleday Books; Freakonomics, MD; Harry Walker Agency; and AAE Speaker Agency outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

References

    1. Dickinson FG, Martin LW. Physician mortality, 1949-1951. JAMA. 1956;162(16):1462-1468. doi: 10.1001/jama.1956.72970330004008 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Patel VR, Liu M, Worsham CM, Stanford FC, Ganguli I, Jena AB. Mortality among US physicians and other health care workers. JAMA Intern Med. 2025;185(5):563-571. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.8432 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Balch CM, Freischlag JA, Shanafelt TD. Stress and burnout among surgeons: understanding and managing the syndrome and avoiding the adverse consequences. Arch Surg. 2009;144(4):371-376. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.2008.575 - DOI - PubMed
    1. US Census Bureau. American Community Survey. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://data.census.gov
    1. Schlick CJR, Hewitt DB, Quinn CM, et al. A national survey of motor vehicle crashes among general surgery residents. Ann Surg. 2021;274(6):1001-1008. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000003729 - DOI - PMC - PubMed