Abstract P168: Life’s Simple Seven by Sexual Orientation and Sex in the CARDIA Cohort

Abstract

Introduction: Sexual minorities are impacted by broad-ranging health disparities. Few studies have investigated cardiovascular health by sexual orientation. Objective: We assessed Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) in 2015-16 in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study by sexual orientation identity, including an interaction term for sex. Methods: CARDIA participants completed sex and sexual orientation identity items in 2020-22 and had complete LS7 data on file from 2015-2016. Poisson and linear regression were used to test for LS7 differences and generated similar results. Linear models are reported to facilitate interaction interpretations. Results: In 2015-16, mean participant age was 55.2 years, 59.7% of participants were female, and 44.3% were Black. Compared to heterosexual male participants, heterosexual female participants had significantly higher LS7 scores (B = 0.950, p < 0.001). No LS7 differences were found between heterosexual male participants and gay, bisexual, or something else/not sure male participants. A significant interaction was detected between sex and identifying as gay/lesbian (B = -1.177, p = 0.003), suggesting the LS7 protective effect of sex for heterosexual female participants was lower for gay/lesbian female participants (Table 1). Conclusions: Future studies will assess LS7 longitudinally by sexual orientation and gender identity in CARDIA. Table 1. Differences in LS7 Score by Sex and Sexual Orientation Identity