17 percent of US kids at Suicide Risk Have Guns at Home

A latest study reveals that around 17 percent of children and teens that are at risk of suicide have access to gun at home.

Researchers interviewed 524 youngsters who had come for emergency treatment, aged between 10 and 21. They were given a questionnaire to assess their suicide risk.

The study found that nearly 29 percent (151) participants were at suicide risk and 17 percent of them said they had guns at home. Thirty-one percent of those who said they had guns at home knew how to get bullets and 15 percent knew how to operate the guns and the bullets.

"This study highlights the importance of parents understanding the risks of having guns in their homes," study co-author and youth suicide expert Jeffrey Bridge said in an American Academy of Pediatrics news release. "Being at risk for suicide and having access to firearms is a volatile mix. These conversations need to take place in the ED with families of children at risk for suicide."

As per the statistics released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the most important causes for deaths among American youngsters, aged between 10 and 24 is suicide. Around half of those who commit suicide use guns to end their lives.

"While many youths who kill themselves have mental health disorders, up to 40 percent of youths who kill themselves have no known mental illness," Bridge said. "Therefore, it is important to screen all children and adolescents for suicide, regardless of the reason they are visiting the ED."

The authors also emphasized the impulse factor that plays a role when kids at risk have access to guns.