title: [Do old persons wish to die? Suicidal tendencies and weariness of life in old age. Results of the Berlin Aging Study (BASE)].
abstract: On the basis of the results of the Berlin Aging Study (BASE), some 15% of persons aged 70 years and older confess to being tired of life, 5% express a wish to die, and 0.5-1% entertain thoughts of suicide. Women express a wish to die or have thoughts of suicide approximately 1.5 to 3 times more frequently than men. Depending on the severity of the suicidal tendency, more than 80% of such patients, and all of these entertaining thoughts of suicide, suffer from acute psychiatric disorders. Death wishes and thoughts of suicide must therefore always prompt an intensive psychiatric diagnostic work-up, and initiation of suitable and rigorous treatment, and must not be mistaken for the expression of understandable attitudes towards aging.
authors.affiliation: Eachbereich Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Universität Greifswald.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barnow
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Linden
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001604:Berlin; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012737:Sex Factors; D013405:Suicide
vernacular_title: Wollen alte Menschen sterben? Suizidalität und Lebensüberdruss im hohen Alter. Ergebnisse der Berliner Altersstudie (BASE).