Physician Assisted Suicide’s Appeal to MS Patients in Unbearable Pain Highlights Urgency in Treating Depression

Patricia Silva, PhD avatar

by Patricia Silva, PhD |

Share this article:

Share article via email
euthanasia

Half of the more than 7,500 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients responding to a recent survey revealed they’dĀ consider physician-assisted suicide if they could no longerĀ enjoy anything that made life worth living. In addition, 65 percent of respondents said they’d definitely or probably let a physician terminate their lives if they were suffering unbearable pain.

Considering that depression goes hand in hand with MS, the findings underscore the importance of a vigilant, pro-active approach to diagnosing and treating depression among MS patients.

The study, ā€œHigh hypothetical interest in physician-assisted death in multiple sclerosis,ā€Ā appeared in the journal Neurology. Its authorsĀ emphasizedĀ that those who respondedĀ to their survey did not representĀ the entire MS community, indicating that numbers might have looked different if a larger proportion of younger, non-white people had participated.

Researchers sent out 10,791 survey requests toĀ patients in the global MS registry NARCOMS. Of the 7,534 people who replied, 79.8 percent were women and 92.9 percent were of European descent. Their average age was 59.9 years.

The survey ā€” a collaborationĀ between Canada’sĀ University of ManitobaĀ and the University of Alabama at BirminghamĀ ā€” asked participants to consider five theoretical situations, and rate whether they definitely would consider, probably would consider, probably would not consider, or definitely would not consider physician-assisted suicide in each situation.

The five circumstances were: experiencing unbearable pain, causing a financial burden to caregivers, feeling extreme emotional distress, lacking the abilityĀ to do things that make one happy, and lacking the abilityĀ to enjoy anything that makes oneā€™s life worth living. Participants did not haveĀ to answer all questions.

Respondents who were more religious and those with more social support were least likely to consider physician-assisted suicide. Yet depression, either ongoing or in the past, made that option more likely. Moderate and severe pain also made the idea of physician-assisted suicide more appealing.

Physician-assisted death, which is the legal term for when a doctor provides lethal means for a patient to end his or her life, is currently legal in only five U.S. states ā€”Ā California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont and Washington ā€” as well as Washington, D.C. But little research exists on attitudes toward the practice among patients with various chronic diseases.

The study notes that since depression is particularly common in people with MS, it’s important toĀ diagnose and treat depression among these patients. Relieving pain and improving quality of life could potentially have lifesaving effects, said researchers ā€” though they urgedĀ more studies to assess views on physician-assisted suicide among patients who were underrepresented in the survey.

The National MS Society underscored in a news release that studies of this kind would not be possible without large patient registries. ItĀ urged patients to join NARCOMS and the patient-powered research network iConquerMS.

MostĀ people with MSĀ are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the neurological disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.

 

An earlier version of this article incorrectly equaled physician-assisted suicide to euthanasia.