Gun ownership tied to three-fold increase in suicide risk

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

People may have heightened risks of dying from suicide and murder if they own or have access to a gun, according to a new analysis of previous research.

Researchers found people who lived in homes with firearms were between two and three times more likely to die from either cause, compared to those who lived in homes without guns.

"There have been a lot of conflicting reports about having a firearm in the home," Andrew Anglemyer said. He is the study's lead author and an epidemiologist from the University of California, San Francisco.

Anglemyer and his coauthors write in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday that the U.S. has the highest prevalence of gun ownership in the world, and the majority of suicides and murders are committed with firearms.

For the new review, the researchers analyzed 14 studies that looked at the risk of committing suicide among people who did and didn't have access to guns and five studies that looked at gun access and the risk of being murdered. Four of the studies examined both suicide and murder risk.

The studies were published between 1988 and 2005. All but one found people with access to firearms had heightened risks of dying from suicide and murder.

"Most analyses will find some conflicting studies," Anglemyer told Reuters Health. "That's not at all what we see here."

The researchers found having access to a gun was tied to a three-fold increase in the likelihood that people would kill themselves.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 12 out of every 100,000 people commit suicide each year.

Anglemyer's team also found about a two-fold increased risk of death from murder among people who had access to a gun, compared to those without access to firearms. For women, the increased risk of being killed was even higher.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/01/21/gun-ownership-tied-to-three-fold-increase-in-suicide-risk/

[luckytxn 2,265]

Thanks for the link. Some don't show that courtesy.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Thanks for the link. Some don't show that courtesy.

Fox News - "We report, You decide."

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Odd that this doesn't hold true in Brazil, the murder capital of the world. Lot's of gun deaths, but a very low suicide rate. Must be more to it than gun ownership. I'm thinking mental health issues.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I'm thinking mental health issues.

Hippie.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Hippie.

Well it's only logical that mentally stable people don't kill themselves.

[DavenRoxy 1,073]

People may have heightened risks of dying from suicide and murder if they own or have access to a gun, according to a new analysis of previous research.

Well no shite... And in even more recent-breaking news, people wearing straitjackets in padded rooms are the LEAST likely to kill themselves.

Guns make it easy, though there is an element of pain and risk. Nitrogen is a much more preferable method. (Let's see someone try and take all our nitrogen away!!)

[luckytxn 2,265]

Well I don't want anyone to ever kill themselves but if they are going to I would hope they do it at home and not get in their vehicles and hit a big truck head on.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Odd that this doesn't hold true in Brazil, the murder capital of the world. Lot's of gun deaths, but a very low suicide rate. Must be more to it than gun ownership. I'm thinking mental health issues.

There is and we have done this subject to death. Let's talk about something fresh like TM/GZ

[lostinblue 1,989]

Well I don't want anyone to ever kill themselves but if they are going to I would hope they do it at home and not get in their vehicles and hit a big truck head on.

This is a method of suicide that happens a lot but often other factors are often reported on the cause of death. This is just speculation on my part.

[luckytxn 2,265]

Well it is something I worry about.

This is a method of suicide that happens a lot but often other factors are often reported on the cause of death. This is just speculation on my part.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

This is just speculation on my part.

Do you have to take your pants down to do that?

[GandD 5,966]

Odd that this doesn't hold true in Brazil, the murder capital of the world. Lot's of gun deaths, but a very low suicide rate. Must be more to it than gun ownership. I'm thinking mental health issues.

Are you suggesting folks that own guns are 2-3 times more likely to have mental issues?

Edited February 17, 2014 by GandD

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Are you suggesting folks that own guns are 2-3 times more likely to have mental issues?

Maybe the ones at VJ, but in Brazil the stats show the opposite.