Harvard Injury Control Research Center
Our mission is to reduce the societal burden of injury and violence through surveillance, research, intervention, evaluation, outreach, dissemination, and training.
Lead
An overlooked factor connecting firearms and suicide is lead exposure. Data on firearm licensure rates and lead levels come from 350 Massachusetts towns. Firearm suicide (and overall suicide, but not non-firearm suicide) was higher in towns with more licensed gun owners. There was more lead in towns with more firearm licenses and lead was associated with higher rates of suicide by all methods.
Hoover CG, Specht AJ, Hemenway D. Firearm licensure, lead levels and suicide in Massachusetts. Preventive Medicine. 2023; 1666:107377.
In cross-section analysis across US states (2012-2018), two factors significantly associated with high child blood levels were older houses and household firearm ownership.
Hoover C, Fossa AJ, Ranney ML, Hoover GG, Specht AJ, Hemenway D, Braun JM. Firearm-related lead exposure and child lead levels in the United States, 2012-2018. Journal of Pediatrics. 2024. 269:113975.