Citation

Tharp D, Goldstein EV, Medina RM, Brewer SC, Bakian AV, Coon H. Front. Public Health 2024; 12: e1358043.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Frontiers Editorial Office)

DOI

10.3389/fpubh.2024.1358043

PMID

38660351

PMCID

PMC11040675

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Suicide death remains a significantly rarer event among Latina/o/x populations compared to non-Latina/o/x populations. However, the reasons why Latina/o/x communities experience relatively lower suicide rates are not fully understood. Critical gaps exist in the examination of Latina/o/x suicide death, especially in rural settings, where suicide death by firearm is historically more common within non-Latina/o/x populations.

METHOD: We tested whether the prevalence of Latina/o/x firearm suicide was meaningfully different in urban and rural environments and from non-Latino/a/x decedents when controlling for age, sex, and a social deprivation metric, the Area Deprivation Index. Suicide death data used in this analysis encompasses 2,989 suicide decedents ascertained in Utah from 2016 to 2019. This included death certificate data from the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner on all Utah suicide deaths linked to information by staff at the Utah Population Database.

RESULTS: Compared to non-Latina/o/x suicide decedents, Latina/o/x suicide decedents had 34.7% lower adjusted odds of dying by firearm. Additionally, among the firearm suicide decedents living only in rural counties, Latina/o/x decedents had 40.5% lower adjusted odds of dying by firearm compared to non-Latina/o/x suicide decedents.

DISCUSSION: The likelihood of firearm suicide death in Utah differed by ethnicity, even in rural populations. Our findings may suggest underlying factors contributing to lower firearm suicide rates within Latina/o/x populations, e.g., aversion to firearms or less access to firearms, especially in rural areas, though additional research on these phenomena is needed.

Language: en

Keywords

*Firearms/statistics & numerical data; *Hispanic or Latino/statistics & numerical data; *Rural Population/statistics & numerical data; *Suicide/statistics & numerical data; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Coroners and Medical Examiners/statistics & numerical data; Female; firearms; health inequities; Hispanic/Latino; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; rural health; self-injurious behavior; suicide; Urban Population/statistics & numerical data; Utah/epidemiology; Young Adult