According to a recent study from Rutgers University, published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, gun violence exposure (GVE) was associated with general health and chronic health disparities in U.S. adults.
Gun violence is an intricate and devastating issue for the American public, leading to 31,000 deaths and 78,000 nonfatal injuries every year. The U.S. is notorious for high rates of gun violence, which are seven times higher than those in other countries like the United Kingdom, Spain, Canada, and Japan. Nearly two-thirds of US adults have experienced in-person gun violence. More specifically, one in five U.S. adults say that they, or a family member, has been involved in a gun violence-related incident.
Gun violence and gun violence exposure disproportionately affect people of color. While Black Americans only make up 13 percent of the country’s population, they are the victims of nearly 50 percent of all firearm homicides. Black men are 17 times more likely to die from a firearm than white men, and Black women are more than five times more likely to die from a firearm than white women.
According to the study’s authors, not enough research has focused on how much GVE can play a role in health disadvantages, despite the high rates of gun violence and homicides in the U.S. The authors hypothesized that GVE levels are higher within Black and Hispanic American communities, which may contribute to significant health disparities.
“Gun violence is not only a public safety problem, but it is also a public health issue that contributes to racial disparities in health,” said Daniel C. Semenza, PhD, director of research at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers, in a Rutgers news brief.
Overall, this study emphasized the urgency for further research on how GVE shapes racial disparities in physical health, as well as methods for reducing gun violence and GVE.
The study’s data were drawn from a nationally representative 2024 survey of 7,066 Black, Hispanic, and White adults, who were recruited in the same year. The authors limited their analysis to these three populations.
The study used a five-item variety index of gun violence exposure, which included:
Individual disadvantage was measured based on income, educational attainment, and employment status. Community disadvantage was measured using census data on three factors: the percentage of respondents living in poverty, the percentage without health insurance, and the percentage with college degrees.
Self-rated health was reported by participants, who were asked to provide a general health rating and indicate how many days in the past 30 their mental and physical health were “not good.” Lastly, to measure chronic health, participants were asked whether their healthcare provider had ever diagnosed them with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
Exposure to gun violence isn’t just a risk to an individual’s physical health, but is likely to lead to a negative impact on their mental health.
Across all racial groups, the higher the level of GVE, the poorer the levels of self-rated and chronic health. Disadvantaged communities experience elevated levels of violence, specifically neighborhoods with high poverty and low education rates. When an individual’s income, education, and occupational status are linked to social disadvantage, they are more likely to experience poor health and other related disparities.
“Black and Hispanic Americans experience substantially higher levels of gun violence exposure, and those differences help explain disparities in both self-rated and chronic health problems,” Dr. Semenza said.
According to the study, Black individuals reported the highest levels of GVE, as well as high blood pressure and diabetes. Compared to white respondents, Black and Hispanic respondents lived in higher poverty areas with the most uninsured residents and low educational attainment. For Black participants, chronic health was poorest.
Gun violence exposure is linked to poorer health outcomes for disadvantaged communities. It is well established that Black Americans experience the highest rates of gun violence exposure, both from individual and media exposure. They also suffer from the effects of these high rates, which include physical health disparities and socioeconomic disadvantages.
The study emphasized the importance of community health initiatives and policies aimed at reducing gun violence, which could include programs supporting employment, therapy, and health education.
“Our findings suggest that reducing exposure to gun violence may be an important pathway for improving health equity in the United States,” Dr. Semenza said. “Most discussions of gun violence focus on injuries and deaths, but the health burden extends much further to chronic disease and overall well-being among millions of people who may never be physically injured but live with repeated exposure to gun violence.”
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