Gun Violence in America: What They Don't Talk About at the Debate

Some of the less discussed impacts of gun violence in six major U.S. cities (Baltimore, Boston, Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, and Portland, Ore.)

Gun violence continues to loom as a grave public health concern, particularly devastating among children and adolescents across the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the sheer magnitude of gun-related deaths in America remains alarming, surpassing 48,000 in 2022 alone.

The haunting echo of gunfire piercing the night air is a distressingly familiar reality for many Americans.

In a cross-institutional collaboration between Mass General Brigham’s founding members, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers investigated the number of nights and people potentially affected by the sound of nighttime versus daytime gunshots, as well as the relationship between the sound of nighttime gunshots and median household income in the United States.

The team discovered that gunshots are twice as common at night and disproportionately damage low-income neighborhoods. Their findings were reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

“A nighttime gunshot likely disrupts the sleep of nearby community residents due to the sheer sound of the shot, which is then followed by a cacophony of sirens from police vehicles and ambulances,” adds corresponding author Dr. Rebecca Robbins. “The findings from our study shed light on this potentially significant and underexplored social determinant of sleep and population health.”

Minimizing disturbances throughout the sleep cycle is crucial for getting enough sleep and enhancing overall health. Various variables, such as jetlag following travel or the arrival of hunger in the late hours of the night, may disrupt sleep and contribute to metabolic, cardiovascular, and mental health disorders and problems. Other interruptions, such as overnight gunfire, need more investigation.

Furthermore, experts point out that gunshots might have an immensely greater communal effect than those that result in deaths. The authors’ earlier research have concentrated on the mental and behavioral health consequences of gun violence, whereas the present study focuses on the impact of gun noises on nearby populations.

“The traumatic ripple effects from gunshots can extend across families and entire communities,” remarks co-last author Dr. Chana A. Sacks.

Between 2015 and 2021, the team acquired 72,236 publicly accessible information on the timing and location of gunshots in six major cities in the U.S., including Baltimore, Boston, Washington, DC, New York, Philadelphia, and Portland, Oregon. Using this data, investigators compared the rate of gunfire during the day vs at night.

They also generated maps to depict the prevalence of gunshots at night in various cities. To identify neighbourhoods that may be touched by the sound of a gunshot, they evaluated the number of people living near the site where the gunshots occurred. They also investigated the relationship between the amount of at-night gunfire and median family income.

To assess the potential impact of nighttime gunshots, the team calculated the number of people within earshot and the number of nights of possibly interrupted sleep for everyone in the hearing range.

The team referred to this statistic as “person nights” and predicted that around 12.5 million person nights across the six cities may be affected each year. Among the results was that as median family income increased, the number of nighttime gunfire decreased.

This showed a greater degree of gunshot impact—and the potential for sleep and other disruptions—among low-income residents. Furthermore, it was determined that 51,789 (72%) of the gunfire happened throughout the night in all six locations, with the majority happening on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

The authors point out that they did not explicitly assess sleep interruptions as part of this research. Only six of the 30 most populous cities in the United States have sufficient publically accessible data to be included in the study. The research team intends to investigate sleep disruptions caused by nighttime gunshots while developing community-based sleep therapies to assist persons in high-incidence neighborhoods.

“Conversations about guns often focus on the statistics on gun-related deaths, but our work draws attention to some of the less discussed impacts of gun violence,” adds Robbins.

Source: 10.1007/s11606-024-08707-9

Image Credit: iStock

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