Kellermanns "Gun Ownership as a risk factor" paper

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Kellermann's case-control study on gun ownership and homicide



In article <199605151305.GAA04597@dfw-ix4.ix.netcom.com> phb@ix.netcom.com (Dr. Paul H. Blackman ) writes:

>You wrote: 

>>> The really interesting part is the last 
>>>paragraph....in which he stated the limitations of his study.  In a 
>word, 
>>>he acknowledged his study did not consider or analyze how many times 
>the 
>>>presence of a firearms in the house prevented crimes.

>>I think you are referring to a different study.  We are discussing the
>>case-control study published in NEJM 1993;329:1084-91.

>Tim's right.  The limitations are from the initial Kellermann & Reay 
>piece (43-1), a non-CDC-funded study which presumably demonstrated 
>Kellermann's bona fides to the CDC.  Since then, Arthur has gotten a 
>bit more casual about noting all the limitations.  And his colleagues 
>are even worse.  An annotated bibliography produced by Harborview 
>Medical Center, and available through its Web site 
>(http://www.guninfo.org -- I think the bibliography may be 
>http://www.guninfo.org/annotated.html -- at least that's what it says 
>at the top), concludes a defense of the Kellermann et al.piece we are 
>discussing:
>"We can see from that in all three study designs (randomized trial, 
>cohort study, case-control study), it is possible to measure the 
>protective value of firearms just by ascertaining the outcome of 
>homicide...."

Woah there.  A limitation on the earlier (43-1) study is not
necessarily a limitation on the later case-control study.  The authors
of the bibliography are quite correct when they state that a
case-control study could measure a net protective effect of firearms.

Tim





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