Managing suicide risk in late life - Access to firearms as a public health risk

Author: Oslin DW / Zubritsky C / Brown G / Mullahy M / Puliafico A / Ten Have T
Publication: American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Topics: Local Storage Suicide Mental Health
Keywords: Depression Elderly Gun availability Home suicidal ideation
Bibliographic information +

In this cross-sectional study, the authors explored the prevalence of gun availability among older primary-care patients and especially, the prevalence of gun ownership among those with and without significant depressive symptoms and among those with suicidal thoughts. Data from patients aged 65 and over with appointments with a primary-care clinician were collected at the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania sites of a larger multi-site study between March 2000 and September 2000. Out of 1,023 patients that were screened, 285 (27.9%) reported having some type of firearm in the home, and 202 (19.7%) reported having a handgun in the home. The authors found that patients with suicidal ideation or high levels of depression or psychological distress were neither more nor less significantly likely to have a gun in the home than people without these behaviors.