Depression and explicit requests for euthanasia in end-of-life cancer patients in primary care in the Netherlands: a longitudinal, prospective study

Results. Out of 258 eligible patients, 76 patients were recruited, of whom 64 patients were followed up until death. Of these, 27% (n = 17) explicitly requested euthanasia. One patient suffered from major depression. According to the depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, 47% of the patients who explicitly requested euthanasia versus 28% of those without an euthanasia request suffered from a depressed mood at inclusion; the difference was not significant (P = 0.2). Corresponding figures for the last interview before death were 40% and 41% (P = 0.6). Conclusions. Major depression was not a major factor in explicit requests for euthanasia in endof-life cancer patients in primary care. Further depressed mood was not associated with explicitly requesting euthanasia in this patient group, although statistical underpower cannot be ruled out in this small sample.