Access to guns is associated with risk of suicide (particularly among males) and being victims of homicide (particularly females), according to a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
University of California at San Francisco researchers reviewed 15 observational studies that had data on individuals' access or ownership of guns. Of these, 13 looked at suicides and four examined homicides.
The study was published a little more than a year after the American College of Physicians, the physician association that publishes the Annals of Internal Medicine, called for doctors to speak out against gun violence as a health issue after 28 people (including the gunman) were killed in a shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
The ACP, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical societies then issued statements applauding President Barack Obama's plan to reduce gun violence that was released last January.
But it's unknown how much this current study adds to the effort to classify firearm-related deaths as a public health concern, as the authors admit.
“In summary, we found the association between firearm availability and homicide to be more modest than that between firearm availability and completed suicide,” the authors wrote. “Nonetheless, the evidence that we synthesize here helps to elucidate the risks of having a firearm in the home; restricting that access may effectively prevent injury.”
Follow Andis Robeznieks on Twitter: @MHARobeznieks
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