Affiliation:
1. Departments of Pediatrics and
2. Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
Firearms are a leading cause of injury and death for children and adolescents in the United States. We examined how hospitalization rates for firearm injuries differ for rural and urban populations.
METHODS:
The Kids’ Inpatient Database was used to identify hospitalizations for firearm injuries in patients <20 years of age by using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision external-cause-of-injury codes. Data from 2006, 2009, and 2012 were analyzed to compare demographics and intent (assault, self-inflicted, unintentional, and undetermined). Urban-rural classification was based on patients' county of residence. Rates were calculated by using weighted cases and US Census data.
RESULTS:
There were 21 581 hospitalizations for firearm injuries. The overall hospitalization rate was higher in urban versus rural areas (risk ratio [RR] = 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.81–2.10). Rates were highest for assaults in urban 15- to 19-year-olds (RR = 7.82; 95% CI: 6.48–9.44). Unintentional injuries were the leading cause of hospitalizations in younger age groups in all urban and rural locations. Rates for unintentional injuries were lower among urban versus rural 5- to 9-year-olds (RR = 0.47; 95% CI: 0.36–0.63) and 10- to 14-year-olds (RR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.37–0.52).
CONCLUSIONS:
Hospitalizations for firearm assaults among urban 15- to 19-year-olds represent the highest injury rate. Notably, hospitalizations are lower for urban versus rural 5- to 9-year-olds and 10- to 14-year-olds, and unintentional firearm injuries are most common among these groups. Preventative public health approaches should address these differences in injury epidemiology.
Publisher
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Subject
Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Reference31 articles.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based injury statistics query and reporting system (WISQARS). 2005. Available at: www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars. Accessed December 30, 2017
2. Firearm-related injuries affecting the pediatric population.;Dowd;Pediatrics,2012
3. Preventing gun deaths in children.;Palfrey;N Engl J Med,2013
4. Epidemiology of paediatric firearm injuries in the USA, 2001-2010.;Srinivasan;Arch Dis Child,2014
5. Firearm injuries in the United States.;Fowler;Prev Med,2015
Cited by
52 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献