Objective: The aim of this study was to study the 3-year outcome of death w
ishes in an elderly population.
Method: 1099 very elderly people were examined extensively by physicians, i
ncluding a structured psychiatric interview. Three years later those who ha
d survived were re-examined (n = 683) using a similar procedure.
Results: Of the sample, 11.6% (n = 128) had death wishes at the first exami
nation and 8.9% (n = 54) at the follow-up. Of the 54, 17 have had death wis
hes persistently during the 3-year period; all of them had psychiatric diag
noses. Of those having death wishes at one of the examinations 70% had psyc
hiatric diagnoses. Attrition was more common in the group with death wishes
than in the group without when age, gender, somatic disorders including de
mentia and disability in daily living were taken into account.
Conclusion: This study shows that there is a need for a psychiatric examina
tion when elderly people express death wishes.