A longitudinal ecological study of household firearm ownership and firearm-related deaths in the United States from 1999 through 2014: A specific focus on gender, race, and geographic variables

Firearms have a longstanding tradition in the United States (US) and are viewed by many with iconic stature with regards to safety and personal freedom. Unfortunately, from a public health point of view, firearm-related deaths (FRDs) in the US have reached a crisis point with an estimated > 31,000 deaths and 74,000 nonfatal injuries resulting from firearms each year. This longitudinal ecological study analyzed variations in FRDs following firearm assaults (FAs) and law enforcement incidents involving a firearm (LEIF) in comparison to variations in household firearm ownership (HFO) among different geographic and demographic groups in the US from 1999 to 2014. The Underlying Cause of Death database was examined on the CDC Wonder online interface. Records coded with ICD-10 codes: FA (X93 – assault by handgun discharge, X94 – assault by rifle, shotgun, and larger firearm discharge, or X95 – assault by other and unspecified firearm discharge) and LEIF (Y35.0) were examined, and the prevalence of HFO was determined using the well-established proxy of the percentage of suicides committed with a firearm. Gender, ethnicity, Census Division, and urbanization significantly impacted the death rates from FA and LEIF. Significant direct correlations between variations in HFO and death rates from FAs and LEIF were observed. Understanding the significant impacts of gender, race, Census Division, and urbanization status may help shape future public health policy to promote increased firearm safety.