Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States of America.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States of America.
Prev Med. 2022 Oct;163:107216. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107216. Epub 2022 Aug 25.
This study sought to characterize frequency and demographic characteristics of firearm injury and penetrating trauma in Maryland over the first year of the pandemic, by comparing these characteristics to those of the three years prior to stay-at-home order issuance. Patients were identified in the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission database using ICD-10 codes for firearm injury by all intents and assaults by penetrating trauma. Cases from July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020 ("pre-stay-at-home") were compared to those from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 ("post-stay-at-home") using descriptive statistics. There was no significant change overall in frequency or demographics of firearm injury or penetrating trauma in the year after stay-at-home orders were issued. Youth between ages 15 and 24, overwhelmingly male, comprise a disproportionately high percentage of firearm injuries and assaults, and most penetrating trauma occurs in urban environments where Black non-Hispanic youth and children of low socioeconomic status are at high risk. Our study also found unintentional firearm injury among adults was significantly increased during the pandemic. While increased unintentional firearm injury among adults was the major significant change found in our study, the persistence of firearm injury, particularly in youth, racial and ethnic minority groups, and those in urban environments, should be deeply concerning. Stay-at-home policies did not keep youth safer from firearm injury. With continued high rates of firearm injury and the national debate over how to prevent these incidents, increased education and comprehensive strategies for prevention are needed.
本研究旨在通过比较疫情期间居家令发布前后 3 年的数据，描述马里兰州疫情第一年枪支伤害和穿透性创伤的频率和人口统计学特征。通过 ICD-10 代码，在马里兰州健康服务成本审查委员会数据库中识别出所有意图的枪支伤害和穿透性创伤的攻击案例。将 2017 年 7 月 1 日至 2020 年 3 月 31 日（“居家前”）的病例与 2020 年 4 月 1 日至 2021 年 3 月 31 日（“居家后”）进行比较，并使用描述性统计数据。居家令发布后一年，枪支伤害和穿透性创伤的频率或人口统计学特征总体上没有显著变化。15 至 24 岁的年轻人，绝大多数为男性，占枪支伤害和攻击的比例过高，大多数穿透性创伤发生在城市环境中，那里的非裔美国青年和社会经济地位较低的儿童面临高风险。我们的研究还发现，疫情期间成年人的非故意枪支伤害显著增加。虽然我们的研究发现成年人的非故意枪支伤害显著增加，但枪支伤害的持续存在，特别是在年轻人、少数族裔和少数族裔以及城市环境中，应该引起深刻关注。居家令并没有让年轻人更安全地免受枪支伤害。鉴于枪支伤害的持续高发，以及全国范围内关于如何预防这些事件的争论，需要加强教育和采取全面的预防策略。
