Abstract
This study analyzes firearms mortality (FA) and their impact on life expectancy in Mexico -compared to other causes of deaths- during the three-year periods 2000-2002 and 2010-2012 and the weight of the different age groups in years of life expectancy lost (YLEL) due to this cause. Based on official death and population data, abridged life tables in Mexico were constructed for the three-year periods studied. Temporary life expectancy and YLEL for aged 15 to 75 by selected causes and age groups were calculated in each three-year period. Among men, FA mortality went from being the cause less YLEL caused in 2000-2002 to be the main cause of YLEL between 15 and 75 years in 2010-2012. Among women, YLEL for FA mortality had a higher relative growth. In both sexes, the greatest increase in YLEL by FA mortality was between 20 and 34 years. Findings indicate that the increase in FA mortality, especially among young people, has substantially contributed to the stagnation of life expectancy in recent years, and even his decline in the case of men. This reflects that violence linked to the FA is not only a security problem but also a collective health problem that must be copied in an interdisciplinary and intersectoral form if it is to increase the life expectancy of the country.
Highlights
In Mexico, violent deaths have increased substantially in the last 20 years, homicide and suicide rates[1,2,3]
The presence of organized crime has increased, and with it, the crime associated with drug trafficking and the smuggling of high-powered firearms (FA), which has led some authors to conceptualize the levels of violence reached as a criminal insurgency[4,5]
FA-related deaths were obtained by grouping all those codes that, in the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)[22], refer to a death caused by an FA: accidents by FA (W32-W34), suicides by FA (X72-X74), homicides by FA (X93-X95) and events of undetermined intent by FA (Y22-Y24, Y35.0)
Summary
In Mexico, violent deaths have increased substantially in the last 20 years, homicide and suicide rates[1,2,3]. The presence of organized crime has increased, and with it, the crime associated with drug trafficking and the smuggling of high-powered firearms (FA), which has led some authors to conceptualize the levels of violence reached as a criminal insurgency[4,5]. The possession and use of FA are some of the aspects considered to underlie the high levels of violence observed in many Latin American countries today, and the case of Mexico is no exception[6]. The illegal influx of FA into the country through both borders, from the US-Mexico border[9], has predominantly led to the widespread availability of FA on the streets, which is reflected by the increased likelihood of fatalities resulting from criminal acts whose purpose was not in principle to take a person’s life, such as robberies and street fights[7]
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