In a study from Emory University, scientists found in the past 30 years, the US saw 1.1 million gun deaths.
This is the first analysis to show the sheer magnitude of firearm fatalities in the United States over the past 32 years.
The team used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They extracted the national number of firearm deaths and firearm fatality rates per 100,000 persons per year from 1990 to 2021 and examined the trends over time.
They found there were 1,110,421 firearm fatalities in the US during this time period.
While fatalities began a steady increase in 2005, the upward trajectory has accelerated in recent years with a 20% increase from 2019-2021.
The researchers then dissected the numbers further by analyzing trends among specific populations in the US.
The findings showed a picture of a public health crisis that appears to be hitting certain demographics especially hard.
The maximum rates of fatalities by homicide among Black non-Hispanic men (141.8 fatalities/100,000 persons) strongly outpaced rates of fatalities among White non-Hispanic men (6.3 fatalities/100,000) and Hispanic men of the same age (22.8 fatalities/100,000 persons).
The data does show there are also differences in fatalities by intent. Suicides were most common among White non-Hispanic men 80-84 years (45.2 fatalities/100,000 persons).
To supplement the analysis, the team of researchers created heat maps to visually illustrate the evolving epidemic of firearm violence.
This is the first-time multidimensional heat maps have been created to elucidate variations in firearm fatality rates across demographic groups over time.
The team found that the rise in firearm fatalities is not being driven just by males.
White non-Hispanic females had increased firearm fatality rates during the time period, mainly associated with increases in suicide, but still much lower rates than males.
Among Black non-Hispanic females, the rate of fatalities by firearm-related homicide has more than tripled since 2010.
The team says the most apparent takeaway from the findings is that the increase in firearm fatalities is not consistent for all age groups and ethnicities.
Marked disparities by demographic groups, which are growing wider by the year, suggest that public health interventions need to be tailored to specific demographic groups and should consider differences by intent.
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The study was conducted by Chris A. Rees et al and published in JAMA Network Open.
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