Prevalence of long gun use in Maryland firearm suicides.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Firearms account for the majority of US suicides, largely due to lethality and accessibility. Under Federal and Maryland law, long guns are less regulated than handguns which is a concern for increased suicide risk. This study uses Maryland data to ascertain the impact of long guns on suicides in the state. We hypothesize that the prevalence of long gun use among firearm suicides will be increased in rural and young populations. METHODS:This is a cross sectional study using police and medical examiner narratives to identify firearm type involved in all 3931 Maryland gun suicides from 2003 to 2018. Proportions of firearm suicides utilizing long guns were calculated. Urban-rural differences were determined using the National Center for Health Statistics' classification system. Log

SUBMITTER: Nestadt PS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6996182 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature