NYMC Faculty Publications
Firearm Deaths are Increasing and Endemic in the USA: It is a Problem of Suicides and Not Homicides
Author Type(s)
Faculty
DOI
10.1007/s00268-020-05938-9
Journal Title
World Journal of Surgery
First Page
1323
Last Page
1329
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2021
Department
Surgery
Abstract
BACKGROUND: To analyze and report on the changes in epidemiology traumatic causes of death in the USA.
METHODS: Data were extracted from the annual National Vital Statistics Reports (2008-2017) from Center for Disease Control and analyzed for trends during the time period given. Generalized additive model was applied to evaluate the significance of trend using R software.
RESULTS: Firearm deaths (39,790) and firearm death rate (12.2/100,000) in 2017 were the highest reported, and this increasing trend was significant (p < 0.001) the last ten years. Deaths from motor vehicle crash (MVC) and firearm homicides did not change significantly during the same time period. Firearm deaths were lower than MVC deaths by 21% (8,197/39,790) in 2008, but after 10 years, the difference was only 1% (458/40,231). Years of life lost from firearms is now higher than MVC. Suicides by firearm in 2017 were the highest reported at 23,854/39,773 (60%). In 2017, suicides by firearm victims were predominantly white 20,328/23,562 (85%), men 20,362/23,562 (86%), and the largest group was between the ages of 55-64.
CONCLUSIONS: Death from firearms in the USA is increasing and endemic. They were the highest ever reported in 2017 by the CDC. While deaths from MVC used to be the main cause of traumatic death in the USA, deaths from firearms now almost equal it. Calculated years of life lost from firearms is now more than from MVC. Most firearm deaths are not from homicides but are from suicides, and they are predominantly in white older males of the baby boomer generation (born 1946-1964).
Recommended Citation
Rhee, P., Prabhakaran, K., Joseph, B., Smiley, A., Okumura, K., Klein, J. R., Policastro, A., Lombardo, G., & Latifi, R. (2021). Firearm Deaths are Increasing and Endemic in the USA: It is a Problem of Suicides and Not Homicides. World Journal of Surgery, 45 (5), 1323-1329. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-020-05938-9