http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=12192220 1: Epidemiology. 2002 Sep;13(5):517-24.Click here to read Links
Household firearm ownership and suicide rates in the United States.
* Miller M,
* Azrael D,
* Hemenway D.
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. mmiller@hsph.harvard.edu
BACKGROUND: In the United States, more people kill themselves with firearms than with all other methods combined. A central question regarding the relation between firearms and suicide is whether the ready availability of firearms increases the suicide rate, rather than merely increasing the proportion of suicides from guns. METHODS: We used publicly available data for the nine regions and 50 states in the United States over a 10-year period (1988-1997) to examine the association between levels of household firearm ownership and rates of suicide, firearm suicide, and non-firearm suicide by age groups and gender. RESULTS: In both regional and state-level analyses, for the U.S. population as a whole, for both males and females, and for virtually every age group, a robust association exists between levels of household firearm ownership and suicide rates. CONCLUSIONS: Where firearm ownership levels are higher, a disproportionately large number of people die from suicide.
PMID: 12192220
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=11937613 J Urban Health. 2002 Mar;79(1):26-38.Click here to read Links
Firearm availability and suicide, homicide, and unintentional firearm deaths among women.
* Miller M,
* Azrael D,
* Hemenway D.
Department of Health Policy and Management, Boston, MA 02115, USA. mmiller@hsph.harvard.edu
CONTEXT: In the United States, more than 45,000 women died from gun violence over the last decade. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether measures of firearm availability are related to rates of suicide, homicide, and unintentional firearm deaths among women in the United States. DESIGN: Pooled cross-sectional time series data on suicide, homicide, and unintentional firearm deaths (1988-1997) were used to estimate the association between the rate of violent death among women and four proxies of firearm availability. Two proxies came from survey reports of household firearm ownership rates; two were derived from mortality statistics. SETTING: United States, 1988-1997. RESULTS: The increased rate of suicide and homicide in states with high gun levels was accounted for primarily by significantly elevated firearm suicide and firearm homicide rates. Unintentional firearm death rates were also increased in states with more guns. At the regional level, qualitatively similar results were obtained. CONCLUSION: Between 1988 and 1997, the suicide, homicide, and unintentional firearm death rates among women were disproportionately higher in states where guns were more prevalent. The elevated rates of violent death in states with more guns was not entirely explained by a state's poverty or urbanization and was driven primarily by lethal firearm violence, not by lethal nonfirearm violence.
PMID: 11937613
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=12453821&query_hl=15&itool=pubmed_docsum Am J Public Health. 2002 Dec;92(12):1988-93.Click here to read Click here to read Links
Rates of household firearm ownership and homicide across US regions and states, 1988-1997.
* Miller M,
* Azrael D,
* Hemenway D.
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass 02115, USA. mmiller@hsph.harvard.edu
OBJECTIVES: In this study we explored the association between rates of household firearm ownership and homicide across the United States, by age groups. METHODS: We used cross-sectional time-series data (1988-1997) to estimate the association between rates of household firearm ownership and homicide. RESULTS: In region- and state-level analyses, a robust association between rates of household firearm ownership and homicide was found. Regionally, the association exists for victims aged 5 to 14 years and those 35 years and older. At the state level, the association exists for every age group over age 5, even after controlling for poverty, urbanization, unemployment, alcohol consumption, and nonlethal violent crime. CONCLUSIONS: Although our study cannot determine causation, we found that in areas where household firearm ownership rates were higher, a disproportionately large number of people died from homicide.
PMID: 12453821
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=11937614&query_hl=15&itool=pubmed_DocSum J Urban Health. 2002 Mar;79(1):39-48.Click here to read Links
The epidemiology of firearm suicide in the United States.
* Romero MP,
* Wintemute GJ.
Violence Prevention Research Program, University of California, Davis, USA. mpromero@ucdavis.edu
CONTEXT: Little attention has been given to the role of firearms in suicide. In 1998, firearms were the leading method of committing suicide for both men and women, responsible for three times the number of suicides compared to the next leading method. Understanding the epidemiology of firearm suicide will increase awareness of firearm suicide as a major public health problem. RESULTS: Rates of firearm suicide have changed little over the past two decades and have consistently exceeded rates of firearm homicide. The firearm suicide rate among men is approximately six times that of women. While firearm suicide rates are highest among the elderly, the majority (66%) of firearm suicides are among persons under 55 years of age. Firearm suicide rates among women of all ages have dropped modestly, while rates among elderly men have risen considerably. Whites have roughly twice the rate of firearm suicide as do blacks and other race/ethnicity groups. Individual-level empirical studies have consistently indicated that keeping firearms in the home is associated with an increased risk of suicide. CONCLUSIONS: For suicide prevention to be effective, the availability and use of firearms in suicides must be addressed.
PMID: 11937614
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=12764330Ann Emerg Med. 2003 Jun;41(6):771-82.Click here to read Links
Comment in:
Ann Emerg Med. 2004 Jan;43(1):141; author reply 141-2.
Homicide and suicide risks associated with firearms in the home: a national case-control study.
* Wiebe DJ.
Violence Prevention Research Group, University of California-Los Angeles School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA. dwiebe@cceb.med.upenn.edu
STUDY OBJECTIVE: I test the hypothesis that having a gun in the home is a risk factor for adults to be killed (homicide) or to commit suicide. METHODS: Two case-control analyses were based on national samples of subjects 18 years of age or older. Homicide and suicide case subjects were drawn from the 1993 National Mortality Followback Survey. Living control subjects were drawn from the 1994 National Health Interview Survey. Ten control subjects matched by sex, race, and age group were sought for each case subject. RESULTS: The homicide sample consisted of 1,720 case subjects and 8,084 control subjects. Compared with adults in homes with no guns, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for homicide was 1.41 (95% confidence interval
1.20 to 1.65) for adults with a gun at home and was particularly high among women (adjusted OR 2.72; 95% CI 1.89 to 3.90) compared with men (adjusted OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.49) and among nonwhite subjects (adjusted OR 1.74; 95% CI 1.37 to 2.21) compared with white subjects (adjusted OR 1.27; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.56). Further analyses revealed that a gun in the home was a risk factor for homicide by firearm means (adjusted OR 1.72; 95% CI 1.40 to 2.12) but not by nonfirearm means (OR 0.83; 95% CI 0.62 to 1.11). The suicide sample consisted of 1,959 case subjects and 13,535 control subjects. The adjusted OR for suicide was 3.44 (95% CI 3.06 to 3.86) for persons with a gun at home. However, further analysis revealed that having a firearm in the home was a risk factor for suicide by firearm (adjusted OR 16.89; 95% CI 13.26 to 21.52) but was inversely associated with suicide by other means (adjusted OR 0.68; 95% CI 0.55 to 0.84). CONCLUSION: Having a gun at home is a risk factor for adults to be shot fatally (gun homicide) or commit suicide with a firearm. Physicians should continue to discuss with patients the implications of keeping guns at home. Additional studies are warranted to address study limitations and to better understand the implications of firearm ownership.
PMID: 12764330
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=8371731N Engl J Med. 1993 Oct 7;329(15):1084-91.Click here to read Links
Gun ownership as a risk factor for homicide in the home.
* Kellermann AL et al.
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tennessee, Memphis.
BACKGROUND. It is unknown whether keeping a firearm in the home confers protection against crime or, instead, increases the risk of violent crime in the home. To study risk factors for homicide in the home, we identified homicides occurring in the homes of victims in three metropolitan counties. METHODS. After each homicide, we obtained data from the police or medical examiner and interviewed a proxy for the victim. The proxies' answers were compared with those of control subjects who were matched to the victims according to neighborhood, sex, race, and age range. Crude and adjusted odds ratios were calculated with matched-pairs methods. RESULTS. During the study period, 1860 homicides occurred in the three counties, 444 of them (23.9 percent) in the home of the victim. After excluding 24 cases for various reasons, we interviewed proxy respondents for 93 percent of the victims. Controls were identified for 99 percent of these, yielding 388 matched pairs. As compared with the controls, the victims more often lived alone or rented their residence. Also, case households more commonly contained an illicit-drug user, a person with prior arrests, or someone who had been hit or hurt in a fight in the home. After controlling for these characteristics, we found that keeping a gun in the home was strongly and independently associated with an increased risk of homicide (adjusted odds ratio, 2.7; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.6 to 4.4). Virtually all of this risk involved homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance. CONCLUSIONS. The use of illicit drugs and a history of physical fights in the home are important risk factors for homicide in the home. Rather than confer protection, guns kept in the home are associated with an increase in the risk of homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance.
PMID: 8371731
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=1308093&query_hl=43&itool=pubmed_docsum N Engl J Med. 1992 Aug 13;327(7):467-72. Links
Suicide in the home in relation to gun ownership.
* Kellermann AL et al.
Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee, Memphis.
BACKGROUND. It has been suggested that limiting access to firearms could prevent many suicides, but this belief is controversial. To assess the strength of the association between the availability of firearms and suicide, we studied all suicides that took place in the homes of victims in Shelby County, Tennessee, and King County, Washington, over a 32-month period. METHODS. For each suicide victim (case subject), we obtained data from police or the medical examiner and interviewed a proxy. Their answers were compared with those of control subjects from the same neighborhood, matched with the victim according to sex, race, and age range. Crude and adjusted odds ratios were calculated with matched-pairs methods. RESULTS. During the study period, 803 suicides occurred in the two counties, 565 of which (70 percent) took place in the home of the victim. Fifty-eight percent (326) of these suicides were committed with a firearm. After excluding 11 case subjects for various reasons, we were able to interview 80 percent (442) of the proxies for the case subjects. Matching controls were identified for 99 percent of these subjects, producing 438 matched pairs. Univariate analyses revealed that the case subjects were more likely than the controls to have lived alone, taken prescribed psychotropic medication, been arrested, abused drugs or alcohol, or not graduated from high school. After we controlled for these characteristics through conditional logistic regression, the presence of one or more guns in the home was found to be associated with an increased risk of suicide (adjusted odds ratio, 4.8; 95 percent confidence interval, 2.7 to 8.5). CONCLUSIONS. Ready availability of firearms is associated with an increased risk of suicide in the home. Owners of firearms should weigh their reasons for keeping a gun in the home against the possibility that it might someday be used in a suicide.
PMID: 1308093
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=7998641&query_hl=36&itool=pubmed_docsum Am J Public Health. 1994 Dec;84(12):1982-4.Click here to read Links
The incidence of defensive firearm use by US crime victims, 1987 through 1990.
* McDowall D,
* Wiersema B.
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland, College Park 20742-8235.
It is well known that many crimes in the United States are committed with firearms. Less adequately documented is the frequency with which victims use guns in self-defense. We used National Crime Victimization Survey data to examine incidents where victims employed guns against offenders. Between 1987 and 1990 there were an estimated 258,460 incidents of firearm defense, an annual mean of 64,615. Victims used firearms in 0.18% of all crimes recorded by the survey and in 0.83% of violent offenses. Firearm self-defense is rare compared with gun crimes.
PMID: 7998641
(this is where your figure of hundreds of thousands seems to come from, an annual survey called National Crime Victim Survey or something conducted by the DOJ, I would like to see the actual data but don't have any of the original articles)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=9715182&query_hl=33&itool=pubmed_docsum J Trauma. 1998 Aug;45(2):263-7.Click here to read Links
Injuries and deaths due to firearms in the home.
* Kellermann AL,
* Somes G,
* Rivara FP,
* Lee RK,
* Banton JG.
Center for Injury Control, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
OBJECTIVE: Determine the relative frequency with which guns in the home are used to injure or kill in self-defense, compared with the number of times these weapons are involved in an unintentional injury, suicide attempt, or criminal assault or homicide. METHODS: We reviewed the police, medical examiner, emergency medical service, emergency department, and hospital records of all fatal and nonfatal shootings in three U.S. cities: Memphis, Tennessee; Seattle, Washington; and Galveston, Texas. RESULTS: During the study interval (12 months in Memphis, 18 months in Seattle, and Galveston) 626 shootings occurred in or around a residence. This total included 54 unintentional shootings, 118 attempted or completed suicides, and 438 assaults/homicides. Thirteen shootings were legally justifiable or an act of self-defense, including three that involved law enforcement officers acting in the line of duty.
For every time a gun in the home was used in a self-defense or legally justifiable shooting, there were four unintentional shootings, seven criminal assaults or homicides, and 11 attempted or completed suicides. CONCLUSIONS: Guns kept in homes are more likely to be involved in a fatal or nonfatal accidental shooting, criminal assault, or suicide attempt than to be used to injure or kill in self-defense. PMID: 9715182