Trends in patient characteristics of reported euthanasia cases in Belgium, 2003–2013*
| Characteristic | Year; % of euthanasia cases | Average annual change, % | p value† | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 (n =235) | 2004 (n =349) | 2005 (n =393) | 2006 (n =429) | 2007 (n =495) | 2008 (n =704) | 2009 (n =822) | 2010 (n =953) | 2011 (n =1133) | 2012 (n =1432) | 2013 (n =1807) | |||
| Sex | |||||||||||||
| Men | 49.4 | 52.1 | 51.9 | 53.8 | 54.3 | 52.3 | 49.4 | 53.9 | 50.6 | 51.1 | 52.0 | +0.3 | 0.7 |
| Women | 50.6 | 47.9 | 48.1 | 46.2 | 45.7 | 47.7 | 50.6 | 46.1 | 49.4 | 48.9 | 48.0 | −0.3 | 0.7 |
| Age, yr | |||||||||||||
| 18–59 | 34.5 | 28.9 | 27.2 | 29.6 | 26.1 | 22.7 | 24.1 | 21.6 | 17.7 | 19.5 | 16.5 | −1.8 | < 0.001 |
| 60–79 | 48.5 | 52.4 | 53.4 | 52.2 | 56.8 | 52.6 | 51.1 | 52.4 | 51.6 | 48.5 | 48.5 | 0.0 | 0.006 |
| ≥ 80 | 17.0 | 18.6 | 19.3 | 18.2 | 17.2 | 24.7 | 24.8 | 26.0 | 30.7 | 32.0 | 35.0 | +1.8 | < 0.001 |
| Place of death | |||||||||||||
| Hospital | 52.3 | 55.9 | 51.7 | 52.4 | 47.3 | 47.0 | 43.7 | 44.9 | 44.7 | 45.4 | 42.6 | −1 | < 0.001 |
| Home | 41.3 | 37.8 | 40.5 | 42.0 | 47.3 | 43.0 | 45.6 | 46.3 | 44.4 | 42.4 | 44.3 | +0.3 | 0.1 |
| Nursing home | 5.1 | 4.3 | 5.6 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 6.3 | 8.9 | 10.4 | 12.1 | +0.7 | < 0.001 |
| Other | 1.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.1 | −0.02 | 0.09 |
| Diagnosis | |||||||||||||
| Cancer | 84.3 | 81.7 | 85.0 | 81.4 | 81.8 | 80.1 | 78.0 | 78.4 | 72.4 | 73.6 | 68.7 | −1.6 | < 0.001 |
| Other than cancer | 15.7 | 18.3 | 15.0 | 18.6 | 18.2 | 19.9 | 22.0 | 21.6 | 27.6 | 26.4 | 31.3 | +1.6 | < 0.001 |
| Progressive neuromuscular disorder | 7.8 | 7.7 | 4.3 | 7.5 | 8.7 | 6.1 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 6.9 | 4.9 | 6.3 | −0.2 | 0.1 |
| Nonprogressive neuromuscular disorder | 3.0 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | −0.3 | 0.009 |
| Nonmalignant pulmonary disorder | 0.9 | 1.1 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 3.9 | +0.3 | 0.001 |
| Cardiovascular disorder | 2.6 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 5.9 | +0.3 | < 0.001 |
| AIDS | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +0.01 | 0.003 |
| Kidney disorder | ‡ | ‡ | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | +0.07 | 0.02 |
| Nonmalignant digestive disorder | ‡ | ‡ | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.6 | +0.03 | 0.007 |
| Neuropsychiatric disorder | ‡ | ‡ | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 3.9 | +0.3 | < 0.001 |
| Multiple pathologies | ‡ | ‡ | 2.5 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 4.1 | 5.9 | +0.3 | < 0.001 |
| Other | 1.3 | 4.9 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 3.7 | +0.2 | 0.001 |
| Death expected in foreseeable future | 91.9 | 93.1 | 93.1 | 93.9 | 94.3 | 93.0 | 91.8 | 91.6 | 89.9 | 88.3 | 85.3 | −0.7 | < 0.001 |
| Reported suffering | |||||||||||||
| Physical and psychologic suffering | 50.6 | 61.2 | 57.0 | 70.7 | 78.2 | 84.6 | 78.0 | 74.2 | 70.0 | 63.5 | 68.5 | +1.8 | 0.5 |
| Only physical suffering | 42.4 | 34.4 | 37.6 | 27.9 | 20.8 | 13.6 | 18.1 | 22.3 | 26.6 | 28.9 | 27.8 | −1.5 | 0.1 |
| Only psychologic suffering | 6.9 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 7.5 | 3.7 | −0.3 | 0.03 |
↵* Data for 2002 were excluded from analysis because the euthanasia law came into force on Sept. 23, 2002,15 and data for 2002 thus represent less than an entire year. A total of 24 cases were reported from Sept. 23 to Dec. 31, 2002.
↵† Based on χ2 linear-by-linear association statistics.
↵‡ For 2003 and 2004, kidney disorder, nonmalignant digestive disorder, neuropsychiatric disorder and multiple pathologies were assigned to the category “other.”