An Examination of the Relationship between Sexual Orientation and Health Status among South African Public Educators

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate sexual orientation and health related outcomes in South African public educators. A cross-sectional study design involving a national probability sample of 1 766 schools was used. The overall study included 21 307 educators, but in this sample only 16877 who indicated that they had been sexually active in the past 12 months were included. Results indicate that of sexual orientation, 95.5 percent of the men were heterosexual, 4.6 percent gay and 0.7 percent bisexual, and 98.8 percent of the women were heterosexual, 0.9 percent lesbian and 0.5 percent bisexual. Compared with heterosexual people, gay, lesbian and bisexual people were not significantly more often HIV positive, did not have more often heart disease, stomach ulcer, asthma, mental distress and substance use. However, Lesbians reported more frequently hypertension than heterosexuals and gay or lesbian or bisexual people reported more often diabetes than heterosexual persons.