Self-Inflicted Gun Violence Injuries Epidemic in the United States: A Closer Look at the Nation's Well-Being

Abstract

Gun-related injuries are a hotly debated sociopolitical topic in the United States. Annually, more than 33 million Americans seek heathcare services for mental health issues. These conditions are the leading cause of combined disability and death among women and the second highest among men. Our study's main objective was to identify cases of self-inflicted penetrating firearm injuries with reported pre-existing psychiatric conditions as defined in the 2013–2016 National Trauma Data Standard. The 2013–2016 Research Data Sets (RDSs) were reviewed. Cases were identified using the ICD-9 external cause codes 955–955.4, and ICD 10th Edition Clinical Modification external cause codes X72–X74. Odds ratios were calculated, and categorical data were analyzed by using the chi-squared test, with significance defined as P < 0.05. The 2013–2016 Research Data Set consists of 3,577,168 reported cases, with 15,535 observations of self-inflicted penetrating firearms injuries. Of those patients, 18.4 per cent had major psychiatric illnesses, 7.5 per cent had alcohol use disorder, 6.4 per cent had drug use disorder, and 0.6 per cent had dementia. An upward trend in the proportion of patients with major psychiatric illnesses was observed, from 15.5 per cent in 2013 to 18.6 per cent in 2016, peaking in 2015 at 20.9 per cent. Nearly one in three self-inflicted penetrating firearm injuries in the United States is associated with pre-existing behavioral health conditions. Advances in understanding the behavioral and social determinants leading to these conditions, and strategies to improve the diagnosis of mental illness and access to mental health care are required.