Information de reference pour ce titreAccession Number: | 00000465-199508000-00013.
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Author: | Chochinov, Harvey Max; Wilson, Keith G.; Enns, Murray; Mowchun, Neil; Lander, Sheila; Levitt, Martin; Clinch, Jennifer J.
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Institution: | Received Nov. 2, 1994; revisions received Feb. 14 and March 21, 1995; accepted April 6, 1995. From the Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Manitoba; the Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, Winnipeg; the Department of Medicine and School of Psychology, University of Ottawa; the Rehabilitation Centre, Ottawa; and the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Quality of Life in Cancer Care, Winnipeg. Address reprint requests to Dr. Chochinov, Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, 771 Bannatyne Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R3E 3N4, Canada. Supported by grants from the Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation and the Manitoba Mental Health Research Foundation. The authors thank Mr. Kuldip Maini for statistical assistance.
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Title: | Desire for Death in the Terminally Ill.[Article]
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Source: | American Journal of Psychiatry. 152(8):1185-1191, August 1995.
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Abstract: | Objective: Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide have become prominent medical and social issues. This study investigated the prevalence of the desire for death in terminally ill patients, the stability of this desire over time, and its association with psychiatric disorders. Method: Two hundred terminally ill inpatients were given semistructured interviews that assessed their desire for death and evaluated them for major and minor depressive episodes according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria. Each patient also completed a short form of the Beck Depression Inventory and provided ratings of pain and social support. When possible, patients who expressed a desire for death received a follow-up interview after a 2-week interval. Results: Although occasional wishes that death would come soon were common (reported by 44.5% of the patients), only 17 (8.5%) of these individuals acknowledged a serious and pervasive desire to die. The desire for death was correlated with ratings of pain and low family support but most significantly with measures of depression. The prevalence of diagnosed depressive syndromes was 58.8% among patients with a desire to die and 7.7% among patients without such a desire. Follow-up interviews were conducted with six patients; in four cases, the desire to die had decreased during the 2-week interval. Conclusions: The desire for death in terminally ill patients is closely associated with clinical depression--a potentially treatable condition--and can also decrease over time. Informed debate about euthanasia should recognize the importance of psychiatric considerations, as well as the inherent transience of many patients' expressed desire to die. (Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:1185-1191)
Copyright (C) 1995 American Psychiatric Association.
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Language: | English.
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Document Type: | Regular Articles.
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Journal Subset: | Clinical Medicine. Behavioral & Social Sciences.
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ISSN: | 0002-953X
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NLM Journal Code: | 0370512, 3vg
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Annotation(s) | |
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