have higher rates thanAA (overall stratified Mantel-Haenszel estimator of the ratio 2.09, MH x 2=1,111.9, p=0.000). Trends over the 12-year period The average number of deaths per year was 810, with a range from 599 to 915 (Fig- ure 2). The average age-adjusted rate is 18.6 per 100,000 in Louisiana versus 10.2 for the United States, a ratio of 1.8 with a narrow range of 1.7 to 1.9. While the age-adjusted mortality rate for the United States is fairly constant at 10.3 per 100,000, the trend for the Louisiana population is very slightly in- creasing over this 12-year period (y=0.1016x + 17.901 (Cochrane-Armitage test for linear trend: x 2 = 0.00 [DF: 1] P = 0.985). Trends by sex and race are presented in Figure 3. There was no significant increase over time that could be detected in any of these groups. The Cochrane-Armitage test for linear trends are for African-American males x 2=0.48, p=0.49; for African-Amer- ican females x 2=0.06, p=0.81; for White males x 2=0.14, p=0.71; and for White fe- males x 2=0.0, p=0.98. Distribution of manners of death by race, sex, and age group There were 5,176 deaths by homicide, 4,112 by suicide, and 416 by accident. There were also 44 deaths due to “legal interven- tion involving firearm discharge,” and there were no deaths due to “war opera- tions involving firearmdischarge and other forms.” Rates per 100,000 population are presented in Table 3. Over the 12-year span, there were dif- ferences in mortality rates among acciden- tal (0.8/100,000), suicidal (8.0), and homi- cidal (18.9) deaths. The rate ratio suicide/ accident =9.84 (Upton x 2=3008, p<0.0001), homicide/accident = 12.2 (Upton x 2=3981, p<0.0001), and homicide/suicide = 1.24 (Upton x 2=108, p<0.0001). Accidental mortality rates were low in male children <15 years old at 0.7 for AAM and forWM (rate ratio = 1.1, Upton x 2=0.08, p=0.77) and even lower in female children at 0.2 for AAF and 0.1 for WF (rate ratio = 1.4, Upton x 2=0.24, p=0.62). But the rate ratio between M and F was 4.8 (rate ratio = 4.8, Upton x 2=19.9, p<0.0001). The rates remained low for females throughout the age group. For males, the rates increased in the older age groups to stay around 2.0with
Figure 3: Age-adjusted* firearm death rate (per 100,000 population) by race and sex. Key: AAM=African-American Male; WM=White Male; AAF=African-American Female; WF= White Female
*US 2000 Standard Population, all races, both sexes
Figure 4: Mortality rates for accidental firearm deaths by race, sex, and age group in Louisiana, 1999-2010. Key: AAM=African-American Male; WM=White Male; AAF=African-American Female; WF= White Female
J La State Med Soc VOL 166 July/August 2014 171
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