Study Shows 1 in 100 Anesthesiologists Develop Drug Abuse and Addiction Problems

According to a new study, slightly less than 1%, or 1 in 100, anesthesiologists develop drug abuse and addiction problems during their residencies. The study surveyed anesthesiologists who began their training between 1975 and 2009.

Nearly 45,000 anesthesiologists contributed data to the study, conducted by the Mayo Clinic of Rochester, NY. The survey found 384 anesthesiologists with evidence of a substance or drug abuse problem, with an overall rate of 2.16 per 1,000 residents. The paper was published in the December 4th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. That totaled 0.86% of residents developing a drug abuse disorder during their training.

“Although relatively few anesthesiology residents develop substance abuse disorder, the incidence is continuing to increase,” Dr. David Warner of Mayo Clinic’s Department of Anesthesiology and the American Board of Anesthesiology board of directors said in a statement. “The problem is as serious now as it has been at any time over the period of study, and the consequences can be severe. Residents who develop substance use problems are at high risk for relapse after treatment or, in some cases, die as a result of the disorder.”

The study also found that higher rates occurred prior to 1996, with a lull in drug abuse disorders between 1996 and 2002. However, the highest rates of substance abuse occurred between 2003 and 2009.

The most common drug abuse occurred with intravenous opioids, followed by alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, anesthetics/hypnotics, and oral opioids.

Twenty eight resident anesthesiologists died from complications directly related to their drug abuse disorders during the years surveyed for the study. Of the survivors, 43% experienced at least one relapse.

“To our knowledge, this report provides the first comprehensive description of the epidemiology and outcomes of substance use disorder for any in-training physician specialty group, showing that the incidence of substance use disorder has increased over the study period and that relapse rates are not improving,” the paper’s authors wrote.

Detailed findings in the study included:

• Rates were far higher among men than women (2.68 versus 0.65 per 1,000 resident-years)
• Relapse rates (defined as later instances of substance abuse after training) stood at approximate 20% at 5 years and 35% at 15 years, with no difference over time or by the specific type of drug abused
• Fourteen residents who survived substance use disorders during residency subsequently died from relapse
• Among residents whose records indicated a specific drug of abuse, 69% completed training and 51% obtained board certification in anesthesiology.

“Despite the considerable attention paid to this issue, there is no evidence that the incidence and outcomes of [substance use disorder] among these physicians are improving over time,” they added.

The study’s authors also added that, while anesthesiologists do not track drug abuse disorder data very well, other medical professions do a worse job. This makes it difficult to determine if drug abuse among anesthesiologists is “of special concern to anesthesiologists or is merely representative of the larger physician issue.”

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