title: Symptom prevalence in the last days of life in Germany: the role of place of death.
abstract: Investigations have shown that symptom prevalence varies according to the place of death. We sought to assess the symptom prevalence of chronically ill people in Germany and how this prevalence differs depending on the place of death. We sent questionnaires to 5000 bereaved people in Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany), whose relatives died between May 25 and August 24, 2008. In all, 3832 questionnaires were delivered and 1378 completed (response 36.0%). Most decedents had moderate-to-severe weakness (94.5%), fatigue (93.5%), need for help in daily activities (87.9%), and appetite loss (87.4%). Pain and dyspnea were most severe in hospitals; fatigue, confusion/disorientation, and problems with wound care in nursing homes; and need for help in daily activities and overburden of family at home. Associations persisted after adjusting for potential confounders.
authors: Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany. escobar@uni-mainz.de
authors: Luis Carlos Escobar
authors: LC
authors: Pinzón
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Claus
authors: Kirsten Isabel
authors: KI
authors: Zepf
authors: Sabine
authors: S
authors: Fischbeck
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Weber
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003221:Confusion / Q000453:epidemiology; D003643:Death; D005190:Family; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000453:epidemiology; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult