As Gun Ownership Soars, Researchers Find One Third of People with Dementia Have Access to Firearms at Home
By Phil Gutis | July 15th, 2020
New research raises concerns about access to guns for people with dementia, and caregivers search for expert guidance on how to address gun safety as neurodegenerative diseases progress.
Gun ownership in the United States is soaring. According to the Brookings Institute, almost 3 million more firearms were sold this spring over comparable periods in the past, resurfacing the national conversation about gun safety. Research released today affirms that dementia and guns do not mix. 
Adults 65 and older are more likely to own guns than any other age group. Past studies have found that that more than three quarters of people in this age group own a gun, and 37 percent live in a home with a gun, putting them at greater risk of self-harm or death and of harming or killing others.
Researchers say this risk is compounded by a disease like dementia, which people over 65 may have as much as a one-in-five chance of developing.
“Alzheimer’s and other kinds of dementia can cause changes in thinking and memory that could make someone unsafe to handle a gun — even if that person has a lifetime of experience,” Emmy Betz, an associate professor of emergency medicine said at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said in a news release.
“Figuring out what to do about firearms can be stressful for family members and other dementia caregivers,” Betz continued.
THIS ARTICLE SUBMITTED BY Pat France, MSRN Member
