Associations between gun violence exposure and suicide mortality rates in US counties

Gun violence traumatizes communities and places a heavy burden on the mental health of those exposed. This ecological study examines the association between gun violence exposure and suicide mortality rates in US counties for the period 1999-2020 at various urbanicity levels.

A Bayesian hierarchical Gamma-Poisson model with state random effects was employed to model the age-adjusted suicide mortality rates which adjusted for sex ratio, urbanicity, social vulnerability, gun ownership, culture of honor, and exposure spillovers from neighbouring counties.

Results indicate a small significant positive association between gun violence and suicide mortality rates. Urbanicity levels do not appear to modify this association, although the association may be slightly smaller for large urban metros.

Gun violence exposure may be positively associated with suicide mortality in US counties.