Children Firearm Injuries Increased 52% During COVID Pandemic - JAMA Study

Children Firearm Injuries Increased 52% During COVID Pandemic - JAMA Study

Washington (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th December, 2022) Firearm injuries among children 18 and younger have increased by 52% during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said in a new study.

"Rates of children with firearm injuries presenting to US children's hospitals significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and remained elevated throughout 2021," the study said on Monday. "Firearm injuries are the leading cause of injury-related death for US children, and increased societal violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, including mass shooting events, has sparked renewed public attention toward this public health crisis.

"

JAMA said some studies early in the pandemic, when lockdowns and other restrictive measures were imposed, indicated a spike in firearm injuries, while others found rates to be unchanged, the study said.

Researchers evaluated contemporary trends in pediatric firearm injuries before and during the pandemic to determine whether socio-demographic risk factors were similar, the study added.

There were 1,815 firearm injuries before the pandemic versus 2,759 during the pandemic - a 52% increase, the study said, adding that 78.5% of the total were boys, according to the study.