Household Firearm Ownership and Storage, Suicide Risk Factors, and Memory Loss Among Older Adults
Authors: Alan R. Ertle
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Letters19 November 2019Household Firearm Ownership and Storage, Suicide Risk Factors, and Memory Loss Among Older AdultsFREEAlan R. Ertle, MD, MPH, MBAAlan R. Ertle, MD, MPH, MBAEmeritus Enterprises, Bend, Oregon (A.R.E.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L19-0601 SectionsAboutVisual AbstractPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:I read Morgan and colleagues' brief research report (1) with interest. Approximately 1% of persons in the United States will die by suicide (2). Older men and women have the highest suicide rate in almost all countries—including those with limited access to firearms, such as Japan and China, where the rate of suicide in elderly persons is nearly 3 times that in the United States (2, 3).Morgan and colleagues cite a review by Anglemyer and associates (4) that concludes that access to firearms is associated with risk for suicide and being the victim of homicide. However, this review was not specific to elderly persons, which makes extrapolating these findings to that population difficult. Morgan and colleagues conclude that “limiting access to lethal weapons for the older adult population represents an important avenue for suicide prevention.” On the basis of their study, it is impossible for Morgan and colleagues to draw this conclusion. There is no evidence that limiting access to firearms would change the overall rate of suicide among elderly persons in the United States. Limited access to firearms may reduce the risk for suicide by firearms, but evidence to support that the overall suicide rate would decrease is lacking. This fact is corroborated by the previously mentioned higher rates of suicide among elderly persons in countries with exceptionally limited access to firearms. According to Morgan and colleagues' logic, we should also limit access to acetaminophen, ropes, automobiles, stairs, knives, bathtubs, and a host of other potential suicide risks.References1. Morgan ER, Gomez A, Rivara FP, et al. Household firearm ownership and storage, suicide risk factors, and memory loss among older adults: results from a statewide survey. Ann Intern Med. 2019;171:220-2. [PMID: 30986820]. doi:10.7326/M18-3698 LinkGoogle Scholar2. World Health Organization. Mental health: suicide data. 2019. Accessed at www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en on 7 August 2019. Google Scholar3. Conwell Y, Thompson C. Suicidal behavior in elders. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2008;31:333-56. [PMID: 18439452] doi:10.1016/j.psc.2008.01.004 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Anglemyer A, Horvath T, Rutherford G. The accessibility of firearms and risk for suicide and homicide victimization among household members: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2014;160:101-10. [PMID: 24592495] LinkGoogle Scholar Comments0 CommentsSign In to Submit A Comment Adam KortowskiSolo internist23 December 2019 NRA Sarcasm Ridiculous remarks about"stairs and bathtubs". As if the author did not now about 40000 killed each year by firearms. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Emeritus Enterprises, Bend, Oregon (A.R.E.)Disclosures: The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. The form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L19-0601. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoHousehold Firearm Ownership and Storage, Suicide Risk Factors, and Memory Loss Among Older Adults: Results From a Statewide Survey Erin R. Morgan , Anthony Gomez , Frederick P. Rivara , and Ali Rowhani-Rahbar Household Firearm Ownership and Storage, Suicide Risk Factors, and Memory Loss Among Older Adults Erin R. Morgan , Anthony Gomez , Frederick P. Rivara , and Ali Rowhani-Rahbar Metrics 19 November 2019Volume 171, Issue 10Page: 776KeywordsConflicts of interestDisclosureElderlyFirearm injuriesHomicideMedical risk factorsMemoryResearch reporting guidelinesSuicide ePublished: 19 November 2019 Issue Published: 19 November 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...