Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC - Location VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
BMC Med Ethics. 2021 May 21;22(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s12910-021-00632-4.
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.
(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.
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.
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.
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 to die is multi-faceted. There is still a need for more knowledge, such as insight in to what extent suffering stemming from the medical classifiable disease contributes to the development of the wish to die.
文献表明，中年和老年人有时会有想死的愿望。这些愿望的原因可能很复杂，涉及多个因素。一个重要的问题是，有想死愿望的人在多大程度上患有可归类于医学的疾病。
（1）估计荷兰中年和老年人中当前想死愿望的流行率；（2）探讨易损性领域（身体、认知、社会和心理）内的哪些因素与当前想死愿望相关；（3）评估有当前想死愿望但没有可归类于医学的疾病和/或与年龄相关的健康问题积累的中年和老年人的数量。
本横断面研究使用了 2015/16 年来自阿姆斯特丹纵向老龄化研究的数据（1563 名年龄在 57 至 99 岁之间的荷兰中年和老年人），通过结构化的医学访谈和自我报告的问卷获得。三位经验丰富的医生评估有当前想死愿望的参与者是否可以归类为患有可归类于医学的疾病和/或与年龄相关的健康问题的积累。
n=62 名参与者（4.0%）有当前想死的愿望。当前想死的愿望与四个易损性领域的多种特征相关，其中包括：自我感知的健康、记忆问题、自我感知的生活质量和生活的意义。54 名有当前想死愿望的参与者被评估为患有可归类于医学的疾病，其中一名也被评估为患有与年龄相关的健康问题的积累。六个人没有，两个人情况不明。
荷兰的一小部分中年和老年人有当前想死的愿望。他们中的大多数可以归类为患有医学疾病，有一个人患有与年龄相关的健康问题的积累。此外，研究结果表明，当前想死的愿望是多方面的。仍然需要更多的知识，例如了解从可归类于医学的疾病中产生的痛苦在多大程度上导致了想死的愿望的发展。
