Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33517906›Full record

ArticleInjury epidemiology2021

Characteristics and patterns of older adult homicides in the United States.

Riffat Ara Shawon, Avanti Adhia, Christopher DeCou, Ali Rowhani-Rahbar

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Injury epidemiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Firearm Deaths Impacting Older Adults.Journal of community health · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Riffat Ara ShawonDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. shawon@uw.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3297-1982
Avanti AdhiaFirearm Injury & Policy Research Program, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Christopher DeCouFirearm Injury & Policy Research Program, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Ali Rowhani-RahbarDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
University of Washington · US

Funding

University of Washington No award/grant number available
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNearly 1800 homicides were reported in 2018 among individuals aged 60 years or older in the US. The characteristics and circumstances of these homicides are understudied. We investigated the trends of homicides over time and compared victim, perpetrator, and incident characteristics by mechanism (firearm vs. non-firearm) among adults aged 60 years or older.

methodsWe examined cross-sectional restricted-access data from the National Violent Death Reporting System from 2003 to 2017. Fatal Injury Data by CDC provided age-adjusted homicide rates. We quantitatively summarized victim, perpetrator, and incident characteristics for firearm and non-firearm homicides. We also reviewed 150 qualitative narratives to better understand the context of older adult homicides perpetrated by firearms. All data were analyzed in February 2020.

resultsOverall and firearm-specific older adult homicide rates increased between 2014 and 2017. Of the 6188 victims, 62% were male. The majority of victims (68%) were killed at home. Firearms (44%), sharp (19%) and blunt weapons (15%) were common mechanisms used in older adult homicides. The perpetrator was an intimate partner in 39% of firearm homicides and 12% of non-firearm homicides (prevalence difference = 27%; 95% CI: 25, 30%). Similarly, homicide-suicides (prevalence difference = 21%; 95% CI: 19, 22%) and multiple-victim incidents (prevalence difference = 7%; 95% CI: 5, 8%) were more common in firearm (23 and 13%, respectively) than in non-firearm (2 and 6%, respectively) homicides. Common contexts of firearm homicides were familial/intimate partner problems, robbery/burglary, argument, and illness.

conclusionsA substantial number of older adults were killed with firearms and by their intimate partners. Further research to identify violence victimization prevention strategies in this group, especially those that limit access to firearms by potential perpetrators, is warranted.

Indexed as

FirearmsHomicideHomicide-suicideIntimate partnerMultiple victimsNational Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)Older adultsViolence

Identifiers

PMID33517906
PMCPMC7849130
OpenAlexW3127691399

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.