Screening for adolescent firearms-carrying: One more way to save a life

Abstract

Firearms are second to motor vehicles as a leading cause of mortality among US children between the ages of 15 and 19. 1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Nonfatal and fatal firearm-related injuries—United States, 1993-1997. MMWR Morb Mort Wkly Rep. 1999; 43: 1029-1034 Google Scholar , 2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ten leading causes of injury deaths. Office of Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/default.htm. Accessed August 13, 2003. Google Scholar In fact, firearms are the second leading cause of injury death for Americans of all ages, killing 28,663 persons in the year 2000. 3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Firearm Mortality. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2002; 50 Google Scholar More than half of these (16,586) were suicides, and in 2000, suicides surpassed homicides as the greatest contributor to firearm-related mortality in the 10- to 14-year-old age group. 3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Firearm Mortality. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2002; 50 Google Scholar More Americans kill themselves with guns than by all other methods of self-destruction combined. 2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ten leading causes of injury deaths. Office of Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/default.htm. Accessed August 13, 2003. Google Scholar , 4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Suicide increasing among young US adolescents. Health Letter on the CDC. 1995; May: 2-3 Google Scholar From 1990 to 1998, homicides and suicides together resulted in more years of potential life lost for Americans aged younger than 65 years than heart disease. 5 National Center for Health Statistics. Prevention CDC. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/default.htm. Accessed August 13, 2003. Google Scholar Firearm mortality is not distributed equally across all ethnic and racial strata. 6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Homicides among 15- 19-year-old males: United States, 1963-1991. MMWR Morb Mort Wkly Rep. 1994; 43: 725-727 PubMed Google Scholar Among males aged 15 to 19 years, the firearm death rate was 22.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2000, but among young black males, it was almost 3 times higher: 62.2 deaths per 100,000. 5 National Center for Health Statistics. Prevention CDC. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/default.htm. Accessed August 13, 2003. Google Scholar Overall, the age-adjusted case fatality rate for victims of firearm-injury is 31.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 27.7% to 35.6%). 7 Beaman V Annest J Mercy JA Lethality of firearm-related injuries in the United States population. Ann Emerg Med. 2000; 35: 258-266 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (86) Google Scholar For other major causes of injury, including motor vehicle crashes, burns, falls, and poisoning, case fatality rates are less than 2%. 8 Burt CW, Fingerhut LA. Injury visits to hospital emergency departments: United States 1992-95. Vital Health Stat Series No. 13(131). 1998. Google Scholar