Table 3 Characteristics of the patients
All patients | Wish to die (WD) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | ER group | ST group | OWD group | ||||||||
Number of patients | 2157 | 195 | 9% | 61 | 3% | 15 | 1% | 119 | 6% | ||
Sex | Male | 973 | 45% | 68 | 35%*** | 25 | 41% | 10 | 67% | 33 | 28%*** |
Female | 1184 | 55% | 127 | 65%*** | 36 | 59% | 5 | 33% | 86 | 72%*** | |
Age (mean ± SD) | 72 ±14 | 73 ±14 | 68 ±15 | 66±16 | 77±12 | ||||||
Marital Status | Married/ cohabiting | 1115 | 52% | 91 | 47% | 29 | 48% | 10 | 67% | 52 | 44% |
Single | 312 | 14% | 29 | 15% | 8 | 13% | 2 | 13% | 19 | 16% | |
Widow | 471 | 22% | 56 | 29% | 14 | 23% | 3 | 20% | 39 | 33%** | |
Divorced | 255 | 12% | 19 | 10% | 10 | 16% | 0 | 0% | 9 | 8% | |
Median duration of stay (interquartile) | 13 (6–26) | 24 (11–41)*** | 20 (10–35)** | 21 (14–50)** | 26 (12–44)*** | ||||||
Antidepressants | 776 | 36% | 107 | 55%*** | 36 | 59%*** | 12 | 80%*** | 59 | 50%*** | |
Anxiolytics | 1419 | 66% | 171 | 88%*** | 57 | 93%*** | 11 | 73% | 103 | 87%*** | |
Disease | |||||||||||
Cancer | 1957 | 91% | 179 | 92% | 56 | 92% | 14 | 93% | 109 | 92% | |
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis | 36 | 2% | 4 | 2% | 3 | 5% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 1% | |
Other | 164 | 8% | 12 | 6% | 2 | 3% | 1 | 7% | 9 | 8% | |