Mortality among Recent Purchasers of Handguns

Abstract

The purchase of a handgun is associated with a substantial increase in the risk of suicide by firearm and by any method; the increase in the risk of suicide by firearm is apparent within a week after the purchase of a handgun. The magnitude of the increase and the relation between handgun purchase and the risk of death by homicide differ between men and women.

The Epidemiology of Firearm Violence in the Twenty-First Century United States

“…Data available at the OECD website, http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/topics/safety/ (accessed August 28, 2014 (28). Many studies, only a few of which are cited here, have found associations between firearm ownership and firearm homicide or suicide whether measured at the population level (17, 44-46, 51, 52), the household level (6,24,36,37), or the individual level (69). This association is strong enough that it interferes with efforts to quantify the effect of firearm violence prevention policies (65).…”

Suicide Among Regular-Duty Military Personnel: A Retrospective Case-Control Study of Occupation-Specific Risk Factors for Workplace Suicide

“…For example, follow-up of 238,292 U.S. handgun purchasers found that handgun purchase was associated with a substantial increase in firearm suicide risk within a week of the purchase (56). Suicide was the leading cause of death (24.5% of all deaths) in this group in the year after handgun purchase.…”

Firearm Violence in America: A Growing Health Problem

“…[34], [35], [36] Estimates put firearms in approximately one-third of US households with nearly 200 million privately owned guns. [37] The correlation between firearm availability and rates of homicide and suicide is consistent across high-income industrialized nations: where there are more firearms, there are higher rates of homicide and suicide overall.…”