Firearms overtook car accidents as the leading cause of death among U.S. children with official data showing a sharp rise in gun murders like the Texas school massacre that took place in the United States. the lives of 19 children.
Overall, 4,368 children and adolescents up to the age of 19 died from gunshots in 2020; a rate of 5.4 per 100,0000, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Nearly two-thirds of the deaths were homicides.
By comparison, there were 4,036 vehicle-related deaths; previously the leading cause of death in this age group.
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The gap has been closing since traffic safety measures have been improved in recent decades, while gun deaths they were growing.
The trend lines crossed in 2020, the last year for which data is available; a finding found in a letter published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
The letter’s authors cautioned that the new data was consistent with other evidence that gun violence increased. during the covid pandemic for reasons that are not yet fully clear. They cautioned, however, that “it cannot be assumed that it will be reversed.” to pre-pandemic levels”.
Updated data from the CDC shows that almost 30% of deaths were suicides, only 3% were unintentional deaths and 2% correspond to unexplained attempts.
– “Deadly Consequences” –
A small number were categorized as “legal intervention” or self-defense.
Deaths disproportionately impacted black children and adolescents who were four times higher than white children for whom vehicles remain their greatest threat.
The second most affected group was the Native Americans.
Men are six times more likely to die than women.
When it comes to regions, the capital of the United States, Washington, has the highest rate followed by Louisiana and Alaska.< /p>
The data serve to highlight that mass shootings, like the one Tuesday at a school in Texas, are just a small fraction of the total number of children killed by firearms.
“Since the 1960s, continued efforts have been directed at preventing motor vehicle fatalities,” wrote the authors of another recent letter published in NEJM, contrasting the situation with that of firearms whose regulations have instead been relaxed.
Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the influential journal Science, published on Thursday an editorial in which he called to do more research on the impact of guns on public health in order to advance policy changes.
“Scientists should not stand by and watch others fight this” he wrote.
“Further research on the impact of gun ownership on public health will provide insight. more evidence of its deadly consequences”, he added. and claimed that severe mental illness, often considered a cause of mass shootings, was prevalent at similar levels in other countries that do not experience frequent mass shootings.