Government and Regulations
Between 2001 and 2003, the U.S. stock market took a nosedive. At the same time, the annual incidence of firearm-related hospitalizations increased. Between 2004 and 2008, the stock market began to recover, and firearm-related hospitalizations went down. In 2009, the stock market plummeted again; firearm-related hospitalizations went up. As the market revived in 2011, hospitalizations declined.
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Coincidences? Researchers from Cleveland Clinic in Ohio think not. In fact, they suggest that “economic perturbations” may be a root cause or at least a predictor of firearm injuries.
Using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality), the researchers identified 70,974 hospitalizations related to firearm injuries between 2001 and 2011.
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The hospitalizations put a massive burden on the health care system, the researchers say. The annual cost of care, both medical and socioeconomic, is about $174 billion; the direct acute care costs for all firearm-related hospitalizations is estimated at $29 billion. Moreover, according to their findings, the length of stay and the costs and charges associated with the hospitalizations rose over the past decade.
Nearly half of all the hospitalizations were in the southern U.S. Most of the hospitalizations resulted from assaults with firearms, and a majority of the patients were either uninsured or had Medicaid as the primary payor. The incidence of mental health disorders among individuals admitted with firearm-related injuries also increased.
Notably, firearm-related hospitalizations due to suicide and suicidal attempts rose from 8.8% in 2001 through 2006 to 10.3% in 2007 through 2011. The researchers say improving access to mental health services might reduce the number of firearm-related suicides. Mortality is significantly higher among people using firearms to commit suicide, underscoring the need, the researchers urge, to “target this group with an utmost earnestness.”
Source
Agarwal S. Am J Med. 2015;128(5):484-492.e1.
doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2014.12.008.