Exploring Spatial Differences Between 2 US Firearm Mortality Data Sets in 2017

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Similar spatial distribution of the unadjusted death rate was observed in both data sets. The CDC data set tended to have higher rates reported in the southern half of the contiguous United States. Unadjusted rate quintiles per 100,000 population are 0.94 to 2.10, 2.11 to 3.31, 3.32 to 5.26, 5.27 to 7.06, and 7.07 to 13.26. The GVA data set tended to have higher rates reported in the northern half. Unadjusted rate quintiles per 100,000 population were the same as for CDC except for the last group, which was 7.07 to 15.27. The rate differences quintiles were −1.04 to −0.36, −0.35 to −0.06, −0.05 to 0.09, 0.10 to 0.2, and 0.29 to 2.50. Data were missing for Vermont.

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The cluster categories were high-high, low-low, low-high, high-low, nonsignificant, and missing. Both data sets had a significant high-high cluster in the Southeast (Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi in GVA; plus Arkansas and Tennessee in CDC data), but when the 2 datasets were compared, the rate differences were nonsignificant. There was a significant low-low cluster in the GVA data set in the Northeast (Massachusetts and Vermont); however, data suppression in CDC WONDER did not allow for evaluation of a similar cluster in the Northeast.

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