Firearms in US homes as a risk factor for unintentional gunshot fatality

Author: Wiebe, Douglas J.
Publication: Accident Analysis & Prevention
Topics: Accidents/Unintentional Ownership Public Health U.S./National
Keywords: Injury household firearm risk factor risk of death
Bibliographic information +

In this matched case-control study, the author examined the association between relative risk of death by an unintentional gunshot and having firearms in the home, using data from the National Mortality Followback Survey for 84 adults who died in 1993 from unintentional gunshot injuries. People with a household gun were 3.7 times as likely to die by an unintentional gunshot injury as those living in a home without guns. People with multiple household guns were slightly more at risk than those with only one gun. The presence of handguns at home had the greatest effect.