Firearm-related deaths in school-age children are dramatically increasing in the United States where homicide rates are about six to ninefold higher than those in comparably developed countries. Firearm-related deaths also are the second-leading cause of death in children ages 5 to 18. This epidemic poses increasing major clinical, public health and policy challenges.

In the aftermath of the tragic mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, a new study by Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine and collaborators, investigated firearm-related deaths among school-age children 5 to 18 years in Texas from 1999 to 2020. They utilized the Multiple Cause of Death Files of the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.

Results of the study, published in the Texas Public Health Journal, show that from 1999 to 2020 there were 4,090 firearm fatalities among Texas school-age children. Following significant declines from 1999 to 2013, firearm fatality rates significantly increased.

From 2013 to 2020, rates were highest among non-Hispanic Black children, followed in order by non-Hispanic white, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander children. Homicide accounted for most deaths among black and Hispanic children while suicide predominated for white children. Black school-age children ages 5 to 14 experienced statistically significant increases in firearm-related deaths beginning in 2013. From 2013 to 2017, racial inequalities in firearm-related deaths between black and white school-age children increased significantly among those who were 5 to 14 years old, as well as those who were 15 to 18 years old.

“The increasing rates from firearm deaths in the U.S. among school-age children are not unique to Texas,” said Charles H. Hennekens, senior author and senior academic advisor from FAU Schmidt College of Medicine. “These rapidly increasing rates have been noted across the entire country. It is sobering that, in 2020, more than 4,500 U.S. school-age children were killed by firearms compared with 45 police officers who were killed in the line of duty.”

Statistically significant increases in firearm-related deaths in the U.S. began in 2009.

“Further analytic studies are needed,” said Hennekens. “My colleagues and I believe that combating the epidemic of death due to firearms among school-age children without addressing firearms is analogous to combating the epidemic of death from lung cancer due to cigarettes without addressing cigarettes.”

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【占主导地位】

zhàn zhǔdǎo dìwèi

predominate

hold advantage in numbers or quantity

【类似于】

lèisì yú

analogous to

similar or comparable to

美国死于枪下的学龄儿童人数急剧增加，凶杀案发生率约为发达国家平均水平的6至9倍。枪支暴力是5至18岁儿童第二大死因。这一趋势使临床医学、公共卫生和政策面临严峻挑战。

在得克萨斯州乌瓦尔德惨案发生后，佛罗里达大西洋大学施密特医学院进行了一项联合研究，调查了1999年至2020年间得州死于枪下的5至18岁学龄儿童人数。研究数据来自美国国家卫生统计中心的多死因档案。

研究结果发表在《得州公共卫生杂志》。研究显示，1999年至2020年，得州学龄儿童中有4090人死于枪下。儿童的枪击死亡率在1999年至2013年显著下降，之后大幅上升。

在2013年至2020年，非西班牙裔黑人儿童的枪杀死亡率最高，其次是非西班牙裔白人、西班牙裔以及亚裔和太平洋岛民儿童。在死于枪下的黑人和西班牙裔儿童中，多数是死于谋杀，而死于枪下的白人儿童中自杀人数最多。从2013年起，死于枪下的5至14岁黑人学龄儿童统计数据显著增加。从2013年至2017年，5至14岁和15至18岁这两个年龄段的黑人和白人学龄儿童的枪杀死亡率的种族不平等性显著增加。查尔斯•H•亨尼肯斯说：“学

龄儿童枪杀死亡率上升并不是得州独有的现象。在美国各地这一比率都在快速增长。令人震惊的是，2020年，超过4500名美国学龄儿童死于枪击，而只有45名警察在执行任务时被枪杀。”亨尼肯斯是论文的主要作者和高级学术顾问，来自施密特医学院。

美国因枪击死亡的人数从2009年开始显著增加。亨尼肯斯说：“我们需要进一步分析研究。我和同事们都认为，不解决枪支问题，就妄图遏制学龄儿童枪杀死亡率的上升趋势，就像在不控烟的情况下试图抗击因吸烟导致肺癌死亡的流行趋势一样。”

(chinadaily.com.cn)