Table 2.
Health/illness
| Aspects and items | Active persistent death wish, no severe illness N = 155 (0.7% of 21,294) |
Passive persistent death wish, no severe illness N = 93 (0.4% of 21,294) |
Persistent death wish (passive/ active nature unknown), no severe illness N = 19 (< 0.1% of 21,294) |
Total group “Persistent death wish, no severe illness” (PDW-NSI) N = 267 (1.25% of 21,294) |
Answer “No” to differentiation question - Does the description “seeing no future for oneself, longing for death, while not being severely ill” apply to you? N = 20,883 (97.8% of 21,294) |
P-value PDW-NSI group vs. Diff. question = No |
P-value Active vs. Passive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current health state VASa | |||||||
| Median (Q1-Q3) | 6 (5–7) | 7 (6–8) | 6 (6–7) | 6 (6–7) | 8 (7–8) | 0.000 | 0.010 |
| EQ-5D-5L sum scoreb | |||||||
| Median (Q1-Q3) | 10 (8–13) | 8 (7–11) | 11 (8–13) | 10 (8–12) | 7 (5–9) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| HADS depression subscale, sum scorec | |||||||
| Median (Q1-Q3) | 11 (8–12) | 8 (6–11.5) | 10 (7–14) | 10 (6.7–12) | 3 (1–5)d | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Life-threatening disease | |||||||
| Never | 110 (71.0) | 76 (81.7) | 13 (68.4) | 199 (74.5) | 16,388 (78.5) | 0.196 | 0.139 |
| Yes, but not anymore | 33 (21.3) | 14 (15.1) | 5 (26.3) | 52 (19.5) | 3595 (17.2) | ||
| Yes, at this moment | 12 (7.7) | 3 (3.2) | 1 (5.3) | 16 (6.0) | 900 (4.3) | ||
| Number of current diseasese | |||||||
| None | 9 (5.8) | 16 (17.2) | 0 (0.0) | 25 (9.4) | 288 (28.2)f | 0.000 | 0.008 |
| Median (Q1-Q3) | 2 (1–4) | 1 (1–2) | 3 (2–4) | 2 (1–3) | 1 (0–2) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Burden of current diseasesg | |||||||
| Median (Q1-Q3) | 7 (5–8) | 6 (4.5–7) | 6 (5–8) | 7 (5–8) | 4 (3–6) | 0.000 | 0.005 |
| Number of current complaintsh | |||||||
| None | 3 (1.9) | 5 (5.4) | 0 (0.0) | 8 (3.0) | 195 (19.1)i | 0.000 | 0.155 |
| Median (Q1-Q3) | 5 (3–7) | 3 (2–6) | 6 (4–9) | 5 (3–7) | 2 (1–4) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Burden of current complaintsj | |||||||
| Median (Q1-Q3) | 7 (5–7) | 5.5 (4–7) | 6 (5–8) | 6 (5–7) | 5 (3–6) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Results are presented as N (%) unless “Median (Q1-Q3)” is reported
Percentages may not add up to 100% because of rounding
Medians are reported with 25th–75th percentiles
Statistically significant results (p < 0.05) are in bold
aVisual Analogue Scale ranging from 0 (worst imaginable) to 10 (best imaginable health state)
bEQ-5D-5L sum scores range from 5 to 25. Higher sum scores indicate more severe problems on the five domains of health
cHADS depression subscale, sum scores range from 0 to 21. Higher sum scores are related to a possible indication for depression with a greater severity
dN = 1020 (comparison group)
eChosen from the following list of diseases: joint conditions, osteoporosis, diabetes, neck or back problems, tightness of the chest (e.g. COPD, asthma), Crohn’s disease, MS/ALS, skin disease, thyroid disease, heart conditions, consequences of CVA, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, psychological complaints (mood or anxiety complaints, depression), other
fPercentages are based on N = 1020 (comparison group)
g10-point scale ranging from 1 (“very little”) to 10 (“very much”). Diseases are listed above
hChosen from a list of complaints, such as hearing problems or deafness, tinnitus, headache, dizziness, obesity, incontinence, chronic itching, extreme/chronic fatigue, depressive feelings, obstipation and (chronic) pain, other
iPercentages are based on N = 1020 (comparison group)
j10-point scale ranging from 1 (“very little”) to 10 (“very much”). Complaints are listed above