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Assessing the national and subnational firearm violence trends in Mexico from 1990 to 2019: secondary data analysis from the Global Burden of Disease study

Background

Mexico is among the countries with the highest mortality rates by firearms worldwide. We aimed to analyse the trend in the burden of firearm violence (FV) by age and sex in Mexico at a national and subnational level, and the association between this burden and the Sociodemographic Index.

Methods

We used estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD)-2019 study for the analysis of FV mortality, premature mortality and disability for all available age-groups and by sex. The GBD data separates FV into three categories—interpersonal violence from firearms, unintentional injuries from firearms and self-harm from firearms. We used a joinpoint regression analysis to analyse the temporal trends of the FV burden.

Results

FV exhibited a non-significant increase. By cause, there was a significant increase in the burden of interpersonal violence from firearms, a non-significant decrease in the burden of self-harm from firearms and a significant decrease in the burden of unintentional injuries from firearms. Most of the FV burden is attributed to interpersonal violence from firearms. Almost the entirety of the burden of FV results from premature mortality. The incidence of FV disability adjusted life years (DALYs) was significantly higher among males than females, and was most concentrated in males aged 20–44 and females aged 15–49. Significant heterogeneity in FV DALY trends was observed at the subnational level.

Conclusion

These results may help to better understand the burden of FV and help the design and implementation of national and local preventive policies.

Firearm-related threats before migrating to the USA from Latin America and the Caribbean

Background

Every year, thousands of people from Latin America and the Caribbean are migrating to the USA. Policy-makers have argued that US firearms are fuelling violence in these countries and are contributing to migration. The objective of this article is to examine the proportion of immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean arriving at the US border who have previously been threatened with a firearm. This article further explores sociodemographic factors associated with the likelihood of previous firearm-related threats, whether those threats are associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as the reasons behind those threats.

Methods

Data were obtained from a survey of migrants recruited at the southern US border from March 2022 to August 2023. To be selected, respondents had to be 18 years of age or older, had to speak English or Spanish and come from a Latin American or Caribbean country. We used descriptive statistics and a logistic regression.

Results

We analysed 321 cases. Roughly, 48% of respondents reported previous firearm-related threats. Males and respondents coming from Honduras, Venezuela and El Salvador were more likely to report previous firearm-related threats. There was a strong association between previous firearm-related threats and signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Most threats occurred during robberies or extortions, but other threats were perpetrated by authorities, to prevent crime reporting, or by intimate partners.

Conclusion

Understanding the violence, particularly firearm-related violence, experienced by those migrating to the USA from Latin America and the Caribbean could help guide policy discussion and actions.