Background: Firearms account for one half of all suicide deaths in the United States (1), and reducing access to firearms among at-risk patients may reduce suicide mortality (2). Attempts to reduce access to firearms have focused on persons with a mental health condition or a history of suicidal behavior. Objective: To identify the proportion of suicide deaths that could be prevented by limiting firearm access for persons with a mental health condition or a history of suicidal behavior. Methods and Findings: The TUBS (Treatment Utilization Before Suicide) study identified 2674 adults and adolescents in 8 integrated health systems who died by suicide between 2000 and 2013 and were continuously enrolled for at least 10 of the 12 months before death (3). Using medical records and claims information, we identified 1 group who had a history of any mental health or substance use condition diagnosed at any medical or mental health visit in the year preceding death and another who had previous suicide attempts. These groups were not mutually exclusive. Persons who previously attempted suicide overlapped considerably with those who had a mental health condition, because a mental health condition is usually diagnosed in patients who have attempted suicide. Among persons who died by suicide, 54.7% had a mental health or substance use condition and 42.8% of persons with 1 of these conditions used a firearm (Table). In addition, only 10.9% of persons who died by suicide had previously attempted suicide and only 37.5% of these persons used a firearm in their death. In contrast, more persons without a mental health or substance use condition used firearms in their death than did persons with those conditions (671 vs. 627). Also, more persons without a previous suicide attempt used firearms in their death than did those with a previous attempt (1189 vs. 109). In fact, among persons who died by suicide, only 4.1% had previously attempted suicide and used a firearm; 23.5% had a mental health or substance use condition and used a firearm.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0003-4819 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.7326/L17-0111 ID - ref1 ER -