TY - JOUR PY - 1988// TI - The choice of weapons in firearm suicides JO - American journal of public health A1 - Wright, M. W. A1 - Kraus, Jess Frank A1 - Teret, Stephen P. A1 - Wintemute, Garen J. SP - 824 EP - 826 VL - 78 IS - 7 N2 - We report on the firearms used in 235 suicides in Sacramento County, California, during 1983-85. Handguns were used in 69 per cent of firearm suicides--65 per cent for males, 88 per cent for females--and in all such deaths among women ages 35 and older. We tested the hypothesis that the choice of firearms by persons committing suicide at home would passively reflect the reported prevalence of firearms by type in households in the region. Handguns were used more frequently (rate ratio 2.00; 95% CI = 1.68, 2.39), and rifles and shotguns less frequently than expected. LA - SN - 0090-0036 UR - http://dx.doi.org/ ID - ref1 ER -