Boyd J H
N Engl J Med. 1983 Apr 14;308(15):872-4. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198304143081504.
The rate of suicide has risen over the past 25 years, particularly among persons under the age of 40 years. An examination of types of suicide shows that only the rate of suicide by means of firearms has risen continuously over this period. From 1953 to 1978, the age-adjusted rate of suicide by means of firearms increased from 4.9 to 7.1 per 100,000 population per year, whereas the age-adjusted rate of suicide by all other means remained the same: 5.9 in 1953 and 5.4 in 1978. I have examined and rejected the hypothesis that this striking increase in suicide by firearms could have been due to an increase in self-inflicted firearm accidents that were misdiagnosed as suicide. It is conceivable that the rise in the suicide rate might be controlled by restricting the sale of handguns, since another study has shown that handguns account for 83 per cent of all suicides by firearms.
在过去25年里，自杀率有所上升，尤其是在40岁以下人群中。对自杀类型的调查显示，在此期间，只有枪支自杀率持续上升。从1953年到1978年，经年龄调整的枪支自杀率从每年每10万人4.9例增至7.1例，而所有其他方式的经年龄调整的自杀率则保持不变：1953年为5.9例，1978年为5.4例。我已研究并否定了这样一种假设，即枪支自杀率的显著上升可能是由于自伤性枪支事故被误诊为自杀所致。鉴于另一项研究表明，手枪占所有枪支自杀案例的83%，所以限制手枪销售或许可以控制自杀率的上升，这是可以想象的。
