‘Heartbreaking’ data show firearm injuries increased among children during pandemic

The rate of children presenting with firearm injuries to U.S. hospitals increased by more than 50% during the pandemic, according to a research letter published in JAMA Pediatrics.

The increase in firearm injuries was especially pronounced among non-Hispanic Black children, researchers said.

The study follows calls from the AAP to regulate firearms in a manner similar to motor vehicles after they were deemed the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the U.S.

Co-author Stephanie E. Iantorno, MD, is a physician in the department of surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

“This is a heartbreaking statistic,” Iantorno told Healio. “We wanted to study how the COVID‐19 pandemic affected this trend. We also wanted to capture the patients who are injured but not killed. These children and their families often suffer immense physical and psychological trauma in the aftermath of firearm violence.”

Iantorno and colleagues studied monthly rates of firearm injuries, including accidental, self-inflicted and assault injuries, from the Pediatric Health Information System, which includes 49 children’s hospitals across the country, during the first 21 months of the pandemic and compared them with preceding years.

Altogether, the analysis examined 4,574 children, including 3,595 boys and 979 girls. The researchers counted 1,815 firearm injuries before the pandemic vs. 2,759 during the pandemic — a 52% increase.

“Sadly, we were not surprised by our findings,” Iantorno said.

Non-Hispanic Black children and those with public insurance had greater proportions of firearm-injured children during vs. before the pandemic.

“This unequal burden of injury mirrors the disproportionate implications of COVID-19 for minoritized communities; pandemic conditions exacerbated many structural inequities that contribute to health disparities, and our findings may reflect the disparities that some minoritized children experienced during the study period,” they wrote in the research letter.

“Children from every demographic group are at risk of firearm injuries,” Iantorno said. “Health care providers can play an important role in educating families about safe storage options, mental health screening and resources, and community‐ based violence intervention programs. I am looking forward to future studies that assess the effectiveness of interventions to prevent firearm injuries.”