Mdedge Psychcast

Jack Rozel, MD, MSL, returns to the Psychcast, this time to discuss with host Lorenzo Norris, MD, how to think about guns, gun violence, and the intersection with mental health. Dr. Rozel is medical director of resolve crisis services at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/Western Psychiatric Hospital and president of the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry. He has no conflicts of interest but has worked for a gun dealer to teach sales staff how to recognize people in crisis – rather than sell a gun. Dr. Norris has no disclosures.   Take-home points In the United States, more guns were sold in the month leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic than were ever sold in 1 month since gun sales were recorded. Suicide risk with a new gun in the home peaks in the first days to weeks of ownership and then trails off, but there is a measurable difference in risk of suicide in the 5 years after the purchase. Any surge in gun sales leads to greater accidental deaths and homicides from firearms. Rozel remi