Abstract
Introduction: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults have CVD risk and outcome inequities compared to heterosexual peers. With upwards of 7 million sexual minority adults aged >50 by 2030, assessing and addressing their cardiovascular health is critical for clinicians and public health practitioners. However, few electronic health record (EHR) cohorts have been used to study this association. Methods and Results: In this analysis, we used the Veterans Healthcare Administration Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender EHR cohort, excluding transgender individuals to avoid conflating sexual orientation with gender identity. The baseline date was the first primary care appointment on or after October 1, 2009. Sexual orientation of 1,108,990 veterans was identified via a natural language processing tool with 88.2% sensitivity, 91.5% specificity, and 85.9% PPV; 185,788 veterans were classified as LGB. Prevalent CVD (history of AMI, ischemic stroke, or revascularization in the year preceding the baseline date) was present among 19,887 veterans (4,684 LGB). We calculated sample statistics stratified by sex and sexual minority status; results are displayed in the Table . We used logistic regression analyses to assess the association between sexual minority status and prevalent CVD. Adjusting for age, sex, race, and Hispanic ethnicity, LGB veterans had 1.12 [1.16, 1.24] times the odds of prevalent CVD compared to non-sexual minority veterans. Upon additional adjustment for BMI, diabetes, hypertension, lipids, substance use, anxiety, and depression, this association remained significant (OR [95% CI]: 1.08 [1.04, 1.12]). Conclusion: This is one of the first studies to examine cardiovascular health within a veteran population stratified by sexual orientation. Addressing the cardiovascular health of marginalized populations requires further exploring the mechanisms by which stress results in CVD risk and outcomes and the inequitable distribution of both.
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