Symptoms and concerns reported by participants with or without a serious desirefor death, broken down by the presence or absence of a mental disorder
| Symptom or concern | No serious desire for death (n=331) | Serious desire for death (n=46) | p Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No disorder (n=264) | Disorder (n=67) | No disorder (n=22) | Disorder (n=24) | ||
| Physical problems | |||||
| General malaise | 89 (33.7) | 37 (55.2) | 14 (63.6) | 18 (75.0) | <0.001 |
| Drowsiness | 65 (24.6) | 30 (44.8) | 12 (54.5) | 14 (58.3) | <0.001 |
| Nausea | 31(11.7) | 18 (26.9) | 6 (27.3) | 9 (37.5) | <0.001 |
| Weakness | 140 (53.0) | 43 (64.2) | 17 (77.3) | 22 (91.7) | <0.001 |
| Breathlessness | 65 (24.6) | 17 (25.4) | 8 (36.4) | 8 (33.3) | 0.54 |
| Pain | 74 (28.0) | 33 (49.3) | 7 (31.8) | 13 (54.2) | 0.001 |
| Total (M, SD) | 9.3 (5.6) | 13.2 (6.7) | 13.3 (6.1) | 16.4 (5.1) | <0.001 |
| Social-relational concerns | |||||
| Social isolation | 12 (4.5) | 17 (25.4) | 7 (31.8) | 8 (33.3) | <0.001 |
| Communication problem | 2 (0.8) | 2 (3.0) | 2 (9.1) | 2 (8.3) | 0.007 |
| Burden to others | 53 (20.1) | 24 (35.8) | 10 (45.5) | 11 (45.8) | 0.001 |
| Financial problem | 20 (7.6) | 12 (17.9) | 1 (4.5) | 1 (4.2) | 0.04 |
| Total (M, SD) | 2.2 (2.4) | 4.4 (3.8) | 4.8 (3.6) | 5.0 (4.3) | <0.001 |
| Existential issues | |||||
| Loss of resilience‡ | 19 (3.8) | 8 (12.1) | 2 (9.1) | 13 (54.2) | <0.001 |
| Loss of dignity | 9 (3.4) | 9 (13.4) | 2 (9.1) | 5 (20.8) | 0.001 |
| Loss of control | 5 (1.9) | 9 (13.4) | 3 (13.6) | 8 (33.3) | <0.001 |
| Spiritual crisis‡ | 4 (1.5) | 5 (7.5) | 1 (4.8) | 1 (4.2) | 0.07 |
| Difficulty accepting | 17 (6.4) | 9 (13.4) | 1 (4.5) | 6 (25.0) | 0.007 |
| Dissatisfaction with life | 7 (2.7) | 8 (11.9) | 1 (4.5) | 3 (12.5) | 0.006 |
| Total (M, SD) | 1.9 (2.4) | 4.7 (3.8) | 3.0 (2.9) | 7.7 (6.3) | <0.001 |
| Psychological difficulties | |||||
| Anxiety | 10 (3.8) | 29 (43.3) | 0 (0.0) | 18 (75.0) | <0.001 |
| Depression | 7 (2.7) | 29 (43.3) | 0 (0.0) | 16 (66.7) | <0.001 |
| Loss of interest/pleasure* | 10 (3.8) | 27 (40.9) | 2 (9.1) | 14 (58.3) | <0.001 |
| Hopelessness† | 4 (1.5) | 21 (31.3) | 3 (13.6) | 14 (58.3) | <0.001 |
| Total (M, SD) | 1.9 (1.9) | 7.8 (3.9) | 2.9 (2.4) | 11.5 (4.6) | <0.001 |
| Global considerations | |||||
| Suffering | 36 (13.6) | 30 (44.8) | 9 (40.9) | 20 (83.3) | <0.001 |
Table entries are n (%) of participants who endorsed specific symptoms or concerns at a moderate-to-extreme level; p values are based on χ2 tests for individual symptoms and concerns and one-way analyses of variance for total scores. Total scores refer to the mean of the summed item ratings within each of the physical, social-relational, existential and psychological dimensions.
*One patient with missing data.
†Two patients with missing data.