Current wishes to die; characteristics of middle-aged and older Dutch adults who are ready to give up on life:a cross-sectional study

Background Literature shows that middle-aged and older adults sometimes experience a wish to die. Reasons for these wishes may be complex and involve multiple factors. One important question is to what extent people with a wish to die have medically classifiable conditions. Aim (1) Estimate the prevalence of a current wish to die among middle-aged and older adults in The Netherlands; (2) explore which factors within domains of vulnerability (physical, cognitive, social and psychological) are associated with a current wish to die; (3) assess how many middle-aged and older adults with a current... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Kox, Roosmarijne M. K.
Pasman, H. Roeline W.
Huisman, Martijn
Benneker, Wim
Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Bregje D.
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
Reihe/Periodikum: Kox , R M K , Pasman , H R W , Huisman , M , Benneker , W & Onwuteaka-Philipsen , B D 2021 , ' Current wishes to die; characteristics of middle-aged and older Dutch adults who are ready to give up on life : a cross-sectional study ' , Bmc medical ethics , vol. 22 , no. 1 , 64 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-021-00632-4
Schlagwörter: Wish to die / Death thoughts / Middle-aged and older adults / Completed life / Political debate / The Netherlands / PEOPLE / PREVALENCE / IDEATION
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29192342
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://hdl.handle.net/11370/c5203382-278d-4bff-8939-6b28875ab0bd

Background Literature shows that middle-aged and older adults sometimes experience a wish to die. Reasons for these wishes may be complex and involve multiple factors. One important question is to what extent people with a wish to die have medically classifiable conditions. Aim (1) Estimate the prevalence of a current wish to die among middle-aged and older adults in The Netherlands; (2) explore which factors within domains of vulnerability (physical, cognitive, social and psychological) are associated with a current wish to die; (3) assess how many middle-aged and older adults with a current wish to die do not have a medically classifiable condition and/or an accumulation of age-related health problems. Methods Data of 2015/16 from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam were used for this cross-sectional study (1563 Dutch middle-aged and older adults aged between 57 and 99 years), obtained through structured medical interviews and self-reported questionnaires. Three experienced physicians assessed whether the participants with a current wish to die could be classified as having a medically classifiable condition and/or an accumulation of age-related health problems. Results N = 62 participants (4.0%) had a current wish to die. Having a current wish to die was associated with multiple characteristics across four domains of vulnerability, among which: self-perceived health, problems with memory, self-perceived quality of life and meaningfulness of life. Fifty-four participants with a current wish to die were assessed with having a medically classifiable condition, of which one was also assessed with having an accumulation of age-related health problems. Six people were assessed to have neither, and for two people it was unclear. Conclusion A small minority of middle-aged and older adults in the Netherlands have a current wish to die. Most of them can be classified with a medical condition and one person with an accumulation of age-related health problems. Furthermore, the findings show that having a current wish ...