AL Andrews et al. Pediatrics (2022) 149 (3): e2021052739. Pediatric Firearm Injury Mortality Epidemiology

Key points:

• In 2019, firearm injuries surpassed motor vehicle collisions to become the leading cause of death for youth aged 0 to 19 years in the United States.
• Approximately 60% of firearm-related deaths are homicides, 35% are suicides, and 4% are due to unintentional injuries
• In 2015, the U.S. accounted for over 90% of all firearm deaths among children ages 0-14 years in high income countries.

DS Studdert et al. Annals Intern Med 2022; https://doi.org/10.7326/M21-3762. Open Access: Homicide Deaths Among Adult Cohabitants of Handgun Owners in California, 2004 to 2016

This retrospective cohort study followed 17.6 million adult residents of California for up to 12 years.

Key findings:

• Overall rates of homicide were more than twice as high among cohabitants of handgun owners than among cohabitants of nonowners (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.33).
• These elevated rates were driven largely by higher rates of homicide by firearm (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.83).
• Among homicides occurring at home, cohabitants of gun owners had sevenfold higher rates of being fatally shot by a spouse or intimate partner (adjusted hazard ratio, 7.16); 84% of these victims were female.

My take: Gun ownership increases the likelihood of firearm-related deaths.

AAP Website: Gun Violence Prevention Advocacy Toolkit

Related blog posts:

• No Exaggeration: Too Many Children Are Dying in the U.S. “The sad fact is that a child or adolescent in the United States is 57% more likely to die by the age of 19 years than those in other wealthy nations.” This is due mainly to more deaths from MVAs and from gun violence.
• Shush -Let’s Not Talk About Firearm Safety
• Firearm Mortality -Tragic Inertia
• Another Day in the US: School Deaths Related to Firearms
• Is It OK for Pediatricians to try to Prevent Firearm Injuries? Focus on Child Safety –Not on Gun Safety  “We know that nearly 1 in 10 families with guns admit to keeping at least 1 gun loaded and unlocked, and nearly one-half keep at least 1 gun unlocked.”
• Physician narrative on gun control | gutsandgrowth
• NY Times: End the Gun Epidemic in America |gutsandgrowth
• A Call to Arms for Health Care Professionals