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June 26, 2008Researchers study hidden homicide trend |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Gun-related homicide among young men rose sharply in the United States in recent years even though the nation's overall homicide rate remained flat, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Between 1999 and 2005, homicide involving firearms increased 31 percent among black men ages 25 to 44 and 12 percent among white men of the same age. "The recent flatness of the U.S. homicide rate obscures the large increases in firearm death among males ages 25-44, especially black males," said Susan Baker, MPH, co-author of the study and a professor with the Bloomberg School's Center for Injury Research and Policy. The researchers found significant increases in the rate of firearm homicide for white males ages 25 to 34 and for black males ages 25 to 44. "The increases in firearm homicide we measured were almost twice as high among blacks as among whites and they were mostly concentrated in central metropolitan and fringe metropolitan areas," said Webster, ScD, MPH, co-director of the Bloomberg School's Center for Gun Policy and Research. "Further research is needed to ascertain the causes for recent increases in firearm homicides involving men living in urban area. The research was supported by the National Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through grants to the Center for Injury Research and Policy. "Hidden Homicide Increases in the U.S., 1999-2005" was written by Guoqing Hu, PhD; Daniel Webster, ScD, MPH; and Susan P. Baker, MPH.
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