What is the relationship between Depression and Physician-assisted Suicide?
Thinking about suicide is a cardinal feature of depression, and there is a direct relationship between depression and favoring physician-assisted suicide. Depression is frequently overlooked in patients with serious physical illness and Oregon has high rates of depression and suicide to begin with, especially among the elderly. Between 1999 and 2002, Oregon had a rate of suicide (excluding the physician assisted suicides) among those >65 years of age, that was 6th highest in the nation and 156% that of the national average. [Elder Suicide in Oregon. CD Summary. Oregon Dept. of Human Services. Feb.
