PURPOSE: To study the association between depression and the incidence of explicit requests for euthanasia in terminally ill cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted on 138 consecutive cancer patients with an estimated life expectancy of 3 months or less, in the period between September 1999 and August 2003. At inclusion, participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. To identify "depressed mood" we used a cutoff score of 20. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analyses were used to assess the association between depressed mood and the risk of a request for euthanasia. RESULTS: Of 138 patients, 32 patients had depressed mood at inclusion. Thirty patients (22%) made an explicit request for euthanasia. The risk to request euthanasia for patients with depressed mood was 4.1 times higher than that of patients without depressed mood at inclusion (95% CI, 2.0 to 8.5). CONCLUSION: Depression in cancer patients with an estimated life expectancy of less than 3 months is associated with a higher likelihood to request for euthanasia. The question of whether depressed mood can adequately be treated in this terminally ill population, and if so, whether it would lower the incidence of requests for euthanasia needs further investigation.
PURPOSE: To study the association between depression and the incidence of explicit requests for euthanasia in terminally ill cancerpatients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted on 138 consecutive cancerpatients with an estimated life expectancy of 3 months or less, in the period between September 1999 and August 2003. At inclusion, participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. To identify "depressed mood" we used a cutoff score of 20. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analyses were used to assess the association between depressed mood and the risk of a request for euthanasia. RESULTS: Of 138 patients, 32 patients had depressed mood at inclusion. Thirty patients (22%) made an explicit request for euthanasia. The risk to request euthanasia for patients with depressed mood was 4.1 times higher than that of patients without depressed mood at inclusion (95% CI, 2.0 to 8.5). CONCLUSION:Depression in cancerpatients with an estimated life expectancy of less than 3 months is associated with a higher likelihood to request for euthanasia. The question of whether depressed mood can adequately be treated in this terminally ill population, and if so, whether it would lower the incidence of requests for euthanasia needs further investigation.
Authors: Veronica Dussel; Steven Joffe; Joanne M Hilden; Jan Watterson-Schaeffer; Jane C Weeks; Joanne Wolfe Journal: Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med Date: 2010-03
Authors: Jonathan Koffman; Clarissa Penfold; Laura Cottrell; Bobbie Farsides; Catherine J Evans; Rachel Burman; Richard Nicholas; Stephen Ashford; Eli Silber Journal: PLoS One Date: 2022-05-26 Impact factor: 3.752
Authors: Margaret P Battin; Agnes van der Heide; Linda Ganzini; Gerrit van der Wal; Bregje D Onwuteaka-Philipsen Journal: J Med Ethics Date: 2007-10 Impact factor: 2.903