closer look
How an FDA layoff set off one veteran's PTSD
Lexey Swall for STAT
When Karen Hollitt was growing up in a Wisconsin town of 500 people, the military felt like the only way to get out — door number three, leading her to a comfortable, white collar lifestyle, her only other options being the farm or the factory.
It wasn't an easy path. She was assaulted while still in training, and as the years went on, she often felt morally conflicted about the work. Eventually, she landed at the FDA, in the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality. But after Donald Trump won the presidency, her PTSD symptoms — which she'd spent years getting under control — came back. She worried constantly about her job. When the email came on April Fool's Day, she felt betrayed.
"They say they care about us and our health care, and then they cut us from the workforce," she told STAT's Eric Boodman. Read more in Eric's intimate profile of how the government's job cuts have jeopardized one woman's shot at the American dream.
public health
Hunting season isn't just dangerous for deer
We already know that the more people that own guns, the more people get hurt by them. But a new study, published yesterday in The BMJ, found that the start of deer hunting season (which typically falls in autumn or early winter) is associated with higher rates of both hunting-related and other types of firearm incidents.
Researchers analyzed data on gun injuries in 10 states with the highest number of hunting accidents between 2016 and 2019 (as a proxy for the states with the most hunting activity). Overall, they found a 12% relative increase in the rate of gun-related incidents at the start of hunting season. Specifically, there was an 11% increase in suicide incidents, 88% increase in incidents involving alcohol or substances, and a 27% increase in domestic violence incidents.
The association can be explained by the fact that there are more firearms and ammunition available within these communities at the start of the season, the study authors write. They also cited another striking example of how availability — or the perception of availability — can affect risk: In the five months after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, there were 3 million more firearms purchased in the U.S. than was typical at that time. These purchases, presumably due to a fear of future restrictions, were associated with an estimated 60 more accidental shooting deaths in that time.
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