Would Stricter Firearm Regulations in the U.S. Reduce Suicide Fatalities?

In 2016, nearly 45,000 individuals in the U.S. died by suicide, 51% by firearms. With just 4% of the world's population, the U.S. accounts for 35% of global suicides by firearms, which constitute, by far, the most lethal method of suicide. Reportedly, 83% of suicide attempts employing firearms are lethal, compared with 2% of attempts using ingestions or overdoses (Am J Public Health 2000; 90:1885).

Given that firearm ownership per household is roughly 3.5 times higher in the U.S. than in Canada, and that the U.S. and Canada have roughly similar demographic and macroeconomic conditions, investigators compared U.S. and Canadian data among sex-specific groups to calculate discrepancies in suicide mortality rates between the two countries and es…