TABLE 1—
Age-Adjusted Firearm Mortality Rates: West Virginia, 1999–2015 Versus 2016–2020
| Demographic Category | 1999–2015 Rate (95% CI) | 2016–2020 Rate (95% CI) | Percentage Increase |
| Total | 13.8 (13.4, 14.2) | 17.8 (16.9, 18.7) | 29 |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 24.1 (23.3, 24.9) | 29.6 (27.9, 31.2) | 23 |
| Female | 4.4 (4.1, 4.8) | 6.3 (5.5, 7.1) | 43 |
| Race | |||
| African American | 17.3 (14.9, 19.8) | 27.2 (21.8, 32.5) | 57 |
| White | 13.8 (13.3, 14.2) | 17.3 (16.4, 18.2) | 25 |
| Urbanizationa | |||
| Large fringe metro | 8.6 (6.7, 10.9) | 12.0 (8.4, 16.7) | 40 |
| Medium metro | 12.0 (11.1, 12.9) | 15.8 (13.8, 17.7) | 32 |
| Small metro | 13.0 (12.3, 13.6) | 16.1 (14.8, 17.5) | 24 |
| Micropolitan | 15.4 (14.3, 16.5) | 19.9 (17.6, 22.3) | 29 |
| Noncore (most rural) | 16.4 (15.5, 17.4) | 21.9 (19.7, 24.1) | 34 |
| Injury intent | |||
| Unintentional | 0.5 (0.4, 0.6) | 0.4 (0.3, 0.6) | −20 |
| Suicide | 9.9 (9.6, 10.2) | 12.1 (11.4, 12.9) | 22 |
| Homicide | 3.1 (2.9, 3.3) | 4.6 (4.1, 5.1) | 48 |
| Undetermined | 0.2 (0.1, 0.2) | 0.2 (0.1, 0.4) | 0 |
| Gun typeb | |||
| Handgun | 3.1 (2.9, 3.3) | 4.5 (4.1, 4.9) | 45 |
| Long gun | 2.5 (2.4, 2.7) | 2.6 (2.2, 2.9) | 4 |
| Unspecified | 8.0 (7.7, 8.3) | 10.4 (9.7, 11.1) | 30 |
Note. CI = confidence interval.
Source. Data were derived from CDC WONDER (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research).
a
West Virginia has no areas designated “large central metro,” the most urban code in the urban–rural classification scheme used in CDC WONDER.
b
Gun involvement strata were identified via International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision underlying cause of death codes for handgun (W32, X72, X93, and Y22), long gun (W33, X73, X94, and Y23), and undetermined (W34, X74, X95, and Y24) gun involvement.