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Risk factors associated with non-fatal adolescent firearm injuries
  1. C A Paris1,
  2. E A Edgerton2,
  3. M Sifuentes2,
  4. J S Seidel3,
  5. R J Lewis4,
  6. M Gausche4
  1. 1Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle, Washington and Department of Pediatrics, Harbor–UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California
  2. 2Department of Pediatrics, Harbor–UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California
  3. 3Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, Harbor–UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California
  4. 4Department of Emergency Medicine, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California
  1. Correspondence and reprint requests to:
 Dr Carolyn A Paris, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, P O Box 5371/CH-04, Seattle, WA 98105, USA;
 cparis{at}chmc.org

Abstract

Study objective: To identify behavioral, environmental, and sociodemographic risk factors associated with non-fatal firearm injuries among inner city adolescents in the United States.

Design: A case-control study in which patients with firearm injury serve as cases and those with medical conditions serve as controls.

Setting: A level I trauma center in a metropolitan area serving a predominately lower socioeconomic status population.

Participants: Cases were 45 consecutive patients 11–18 years presenting to the emergency department with a non-fatal firearm injury; controls were 50 age and gender matched patients presenting with acute medical problems.

Outcome measure: Odds ratios (OR) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) as estimates of the magnitude of association between risk factors and non-fatal firearm injury.

Results: After adjusting for age, gender and socioeconomic status, multivariate analysis identified four risk factors independently associated with firearm injury: living with less than two parents (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 12.2), skipping class (OR 7.1, 95% CI 1.7 to 28.9), previous arrest (OR 6.2, 95% CI 1.9 to 20.7), and being African-American (OR 4.2; 95% CI 1.4 to 14.9).

Conclusion: Risk factors for adolescents sustaining a non-fatal firearm injury are sociodemographic and environmental, not just behavioral. Thus interventions that foster protective and supportive environments may help prevent firearm injuries.

  • firearms
  • risk factors
  • adolescents
  • CI, confidence interval
  • HEADSS, home environment, educational habits or employment status, peer group related activities, drug use, sexual activity, and suicide
  • OR, odds ratio
  • firearms
  • risk factors
  • adolescents
  • CI, confidence interval
  • HEADSS, home environment, educational habits or employment status, peer group related activities, drug use, sexual activity, and suicide
  • OR, odds ratio

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