Suicide by shooting is correlated to rate of gun licenses in Austrian counties.
OBJECTIVE
Shooting as method of suicide has increased considerably in Austria over recent decades and represented 23.5% of all suicides among men during the period 1990-2000. It is thought that the availability of guns could lead to their use in acts of suicide, and therefore we investigated the numbers of gun licenses (which constitutes ownership of guns and permission to carry a gun) in the nine Austrian counties and their correlation with suicides by shooting and other methods.


METHODS
We studied registered suicides, including the method used, between 1990 and 2000 in Austria and the numbers of gun licenses held in the nine counties of Austria in the same period.


RESULTS
We found a strong correlation between the average gun license rate for the period 1990-2000 and suicides by shooting (r = 0.967), and only very weak correlation, and for some of the years under investigation a negative correlation, with other methods of committing suicide (r = 0.117) and the suicide rate in general (r = 0.383).


CONCLUSIONS
As shooting as a method of suicide has increased in Austria in recent decades, and is a highly lethal method, the finding that the shooting suicide rate is related to the extent of gun ownership deserves attention, especially as there is evidence that restriction of gun ownership is an important factor in suicide prevention.
Etzersdorfer
Elmar
E
Furtbachkrankenhaus, Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Stuttgart, Deutschland. etzersdorfer@fbkh.org
Kapusta
Nestor D
ND
Sonneck
Gernot
G
D001317:Austria; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003644:Death Certificates; D005389:Firearms / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010067:Ownership / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012737:Sex Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000092864:Suicide Prevention