TOPLINE:
States with mandatory waiting periods for gun purchases or laws designed to prevent children from accessing firearms have lower suicide rates than states without such regulations.
METHODOLOGY:
- Researchers analyzed the correlation between state firearm laws and childhood firearm mortality rates using data from the RAND State Firearm Law Database and the Federal Centers for Disease Control WONDER database.
- The study included 17,013 child deaths by firearm from 2009 to 2020, with 6735 suicides and 10,278 homicides.
- Thirty-six firearm laws were considered key exposures, including background checks, mandatory waiting periods, and "stand your ground" laws. Investigators measured suicide deaths and homicide deaths by firearm in children younger than 18 years in each state.
- Data sources included anonymized death certificates filed across the United States, with cause of death documented using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, codes.
TAKEAWAY:
- From 2009 to 2020, there were 6735 suicides in US children younger than 18 years, with 1566 involving handguns, 1184 by large firearms, and 3985 by other/unspecified firearms.
- Male children had a higher incidence of suicide across all demographics and firearm types, with 85% of suicide victims being boys.
- States with mandatory waiting period laws reported fewer suicide deaths across all firearm types (P < .01) than states without these laws, as did states with "child access prevention–negligent storage" laws (P < .001).
- States with "stand your ground" laws had higher overall firearm suicide mortality rates (P < .05) and higher rates of suicide deaths than states without these laws.
- For the years 2009-2020, there were 10,278 homicides among children younger than 18 years. There were no differences in states with or without each of the 36 firearm laws.
IN PRACTICE:
"The long-term impact of firearm-related injury on survivors includes a higher chance of developing PTSD [posttraumatic stress disorder] and an overall impaired health care–related quality of life," the authors wrote. "It is essential to determine the effectiveness of firearm legislation to help prevent childhood firearm mortality across the United States."
SOURCE:
Krista L. Haines, DO, MA, of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, led the study, which was published online on July 11 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
LIMITATIONS:
The study's reliance on anonymized death certificate data may limit the accuracy of the findings. Small sample sizes in some states led to data suppression for privacy reasons. In addition, the study could not isolate the impact of individual laws when multiple laws were active simultaneously.
DISCLOSURES:
The study was funded by Duke University's trauma division. Haines reported receiving grant funding from the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, the National Institutes of Health, the US Department of Defense, Baxter, and Abbott. Additional disclosures are noted in the original article.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.