MedPage Today (7/8, Firth) reports a study found that “the odds of dying by firearm suicide were substantially lower for teens ages 15 to 20, but not for adults, when all firearms at home were locked.” In a study of 725 people who died by suicide, 83.6% died by firearms. Researchers observed that “adults who died by firearm suicide were no more likely than those who died by other suicide methods to have lived in a home with locked firearms or unloaded firearms.” However, “of decedents ages 15 to 20 years – classified as adolescents in this study – 26 of 43 (60.3%) who died by firearm suicide had lived in a home with unlocked firearms, but none of the seven adolescents who died by non-firearm suicide did.” Furthermore, “among adolescents living in homes in which all firearms were locked, the suicide method was not tied to whether any firearm was unloaded.” The studywas published in JAMA Network Open.
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