The effect of gun buy-back law reform on homicides and suicides in Australia.

In this paper we use the synthetic control method (SCM) to estimate the causal effects of a national legislative reform accompanied by mandatory gun buy-backs in Australia on both suicide and homicide rates. Using a rich international dataset, we are able to separate not only these two death types, but also to distinguish deaths by firearm and by other means, thereby enabling us to test substitution-of-means hypotheses. Specifically, we apply the SCM to determine whether any reductions in firearm-related death rates where wholly or partly offset by increases in the use of other means (e.g., bladed weapons, poisons) to commit suicides and perpetrate homicides. Our findings show that these gun control policies substantially reduced both homicides and suicides by firearm, but also some evidence of other-means substitution.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with a higher rate of polypectomy independent of an increased frequency of colonoscopy in Australian veterans: a retrospective review.

BACKGROUND: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with extensive physical comorbidities, including lower gastrointestinal symptoms. Diagnostic uncertainty and poor therapeutic responses may result in more frequent colonoscopies than clinically necessary. Polypectomy is standard practice when polyps are identified, and if PTSD is a risk factor for polyp formation, one would expect a higher rate of polyp detection and removal in veterans with PTSD than those without PTSD. AIM: To determine the association between PTSD and the rate of colonoscopy and polypectomy in Australian veterans. METHODS: Diagnostic and therapeutic colonoscopy rates in Australian male Veterans aged ≥50 years were examined by reviewing case records of veterans who accessed Department of Veterans' Affairs funded health services between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2018. RESULTS: A total of 138 471 veterans was included, of whom 28 018 had a diagnosis of PTSD; 56.4% were aged ≥65 years. Twenty-one percent of the entire cohort underwent at least one colonoscopy during the study period. Increased rates of diagnostic colonoscopy and polypectomy were associated with the presence of PTSD across all age brackets. The effect was empirically large as veterans with PTSD experience colonoscopy rates 76-81% greater than those without PTSD. Similarly, veterans with PTSD experienced polypectomy rates 76-81% greater than veterans without PTSD, and this increase persisted when controlling for the increased number of diagnostic colonoscopies they undergo. CONCLUSION: The presence of PTSD has a marked impact on colonoscopy rates in Australian veterans. The increased polypectomy rate independent of increased colonoscopy rate suggests that PTSD is a risk factor for colonic polyp formation.

The impact of posttraumatic stress disorder on upper gastrointestinal investigations in Australian Defence Force veterans: a retrospective review.

Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly exhibit associated gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. We compared upper GI endoscopy and abdominal ultrasound rates in veterans with and without PTSD. Veterans with PTSD were 77-81% more likely to undergo these procedures than those without PTSD. PTSD symptomatology influences GI investigation rate and more emphasis on clinician and patient education is recommended regarding stress-related gut symptoms.