Manual Laborers who work in isolation, often in wilderness settings, have higher rates of suicide.  That's according to a new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study looked at more than 12,000 worker suicides in 2012, incidents in which 3-out-of-4 subjects were men and the remainders were women.  It said that people working in the farming, fishing and forestry industries had a suicide rate of 84.5 per 100,000.  That's more than 10 times higher than the 7.5 per 100,000 suicide rate of people working in education.

By gender, men working in farming, fishing and forestry have the highest suicide rate with 90.5 per 100,000, while women working in protective service occupations - law enforcement and fire fighting - have the highest suicide rate with 14.1 per 100,000.  The rates might be influenced by other factors, such as job-related isolation and demands, stressful work environments, and work-home imbalance.  Socioeconomic inequities such as lower income and lower education levels likely play a role, as does lack of access to health services because of America's crappy for-profit healthcare system.

Workers who feel isolated can reach out to Lifeline Australia on the phone at 13-11-14 or on the internet at www.lifeline.org.au.  Help is also available at the Living Is For Everyone (LIFE) website, and Suicide Prevention Australia.