The repercussions of armed violence are not only physical. According to an American study, people injured by a firearm and their family members are more likely to suffer from mental disorders.
- Pain, mental disorders and consumption of psychoactive substances are linked to cases of gunshot wounds
- The mental health of the families of the victims is also impacted
In France, the possession of weapons is very supervised. Not all citizens are able to use it. Across the Atlantic, the rules are quite different. Americans can own a gun. This law causes many injuries and deaths in the United States each year.
“Despite growing awareness of firearm deaths, data on the clinical implications of non-fatal gunshot wounds are limited,” indicated a team of American researchers. To measure the impact of these firearm injuries on the mental health of survivors and those around them, scientists decided to carry out work, including the results were published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine April 5.
To carry out their study, the authors analyzed the medical records of victims of gunshot wounds who were followed from 2008 to 2018. They compared the data of 6,498 survivors with those of 32,490 people who had never been injured by a weapon. fire. According to the research, the information of the 12,489 family members of the injured was compared with that of the 62,445 witness participants.
An increase in mental disorders due to gunshot wounds
According to the results, gunshot wounds caused a 40% increase in pain, 51% in mental disorders and 85% in substance use disorders in victims compared to people in the control group. An increase in the use of pain medication and treatments used in psychiatry has also been observed by scientists. According to the work, family members of survivors had a 12% increase in mental disorders.
“Our study reveals that in addition to the obvious physical consequences of gunshot wounds, there are significant mental health impacts for survivors and their family members in the years following a shooting,” said Zirui Song, lead author of the study, in a statement.
“The increased risk of these complications, both in survivors and their families, should be considered by clinicians, and those with signs of trauma should be referred to specialists for care and follow-up. adapted”, concluded the researcher.
.
