Suicides Among Non-Elderly Adult Hispanics, 2010-2020

Fatal Firearm Violence Among American Indians and Alaska Natives

There is a dearth of population-based studies regarding firearm-related deaths and years of potential life lost among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) We Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) data for the three most recent years (2018-2020), we analyzed the demographic characteristics of AI/ANs who succumbed to firearm violence. AI/ANs averaged almost 500 firearm-related deaths per year. The majority of these deaths were observed among individuals 20-39 years of age (53%), males (84.4%), and in the West (55.3%). A plurality of these firearm-related deaths were suicides (48.9%) followed by homicides (43.5%). During the 3-year study period, the age-adjusted firearm death rate increased almost 5 times the growth of the AI/AN population. Also, a staggering 67,050 years of potential life were lost before the age of 80 years (YPLL80) during this period. Firearm suicides were responsible for the largest proportion of YPLL80s (48.5%). Traditional legal interventions [e.g., child access prevention (CAP) laws and extreme risk protection orders (ERPO)], if expanded to more states could potentially help reduce AI/AN firearm mortality. None of the 10 states with the highest firearm mortality of AI/AN have ERPOs and 8 of the 10 do not have CAP laws. Also, a renewed focus on cultural continuity and indigenous protective factors is essential to ameliorate the level of firearm violence in AI/ANs.

Self-reported COVID-19 symptoms and perceived likelihood of suicide attempt among Latinx individuals who experience acculturative stress

The impact of COVID-19 has led to a substantial economic and psychosocial burden on the Latinx population. However, few studies have evaluated how COVID-19 symptoms may exacerbate suicide risk indicators among Latinx persons, or the particular social determinants of health facilitating such detrimental effects. The present study examined the association between self-reported COVID-19 symptoms and suicide likelihood (i.e., self-reported perceived likelihood that one will attempt suicide in the future) among Latinx individuals within a timeframe involving high COVID-19 contagion before the onset of vaccine dissemination. Further, the possible moderating role of acculturative stress in the association between COVID-19 symptoms and suicide likelihood was examined. The sample included 200 Latinx participants (67.5% male, Mage = 34.67 years, SD = 9.15) who completed self-report measures on COVID-19 symptoms, suicide likelihood, acculturative stress, depressive symptoms, trauma symptoms, somatic symptoms, and general COVID-19 emotional impact. Findings indicated that self-reported COVID-19 symptoms were positively associated with suicide likelihood. Further, the association between COVID-19 symptoms and suicide likelihood was moderated by acculturative stress, such that the association was only statistically significant at mean or higher levels of acculturative stress but was not significant among participants with lower acculturative stress. The moderation effect was statistically significant after controlling for sociodemographic factors, depressive symptoms, trauma symptoms, somatic symptoms, and the general emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current findings indicate that, among Latinx individuals, acculturative stress is a key social determinant of health for marked psychological distress in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Forensic medical characteristic of hanging incidents among juvenile]

THE AIM OF THE STUDY

Was to conduct the epidemiological analysis of juveniles' deaths by hanging, registered in the Bureau of Forensic Medical Expertise, Moscow for 2017-2021 years. The number of incidents equal 61 was revealed (2.65% of whole hanging incidents for the researched period). The amount of hanging deaths among juveniles and their percent in the total quantity of deaths from this type of strangulated asphyxia increased in 2017, 2018 and 2019 years to 8 (1.6%), 15 (3.1%) and 18 (3.6%) incidents respectively; decreased in 2020 year to 7 (1.7%) incidents and increased again in 2021 year to 13 (3.0%) incidents. Juveniles died by hanging were mostly male (73.8%) aged from 15 to 18 years (63.9%). The median age for girls was 16 years (IQR 15.0-16.75) and for boys 15 years (IQR 13.0-16.5). Most of juveniles' corps were found in their place of residence: in apartments or residential houses (the whole number was 49 or 80.4%). Generally, juvenile hanging occurred between November and January (36.1% of all incidents) and in April (11.5%); less frequently were in February (1.6%), June and July (9.8%). Alcohol was found in blood of 18.2% juveniles aged from 15 to 18.