Abstract
BackgroundNonheterosexual individuals have higher risk of psychiatric morbidity. Together with growing evidence for sexual orientation‐related brain differences, this raises the concern that sexual orientation may be an important factor to control for in neuroimaging studies of neuropsychiatric disorders.MethodsWe studied sexual orientation in adult psychiatric patients with bipolar disorder (BD) or ADHD in a large clinical cohort (N = 154). We compared cortical brain structure in exclusively heterosexual women (HEW, n = 29) with that of nonexclusively heterosexual women (nHEW, n = 37) using surface‐based reconstruction techniques provided by FreeSurfer.ResultsThe prevalence of nonheterosexual sexual orientation was tentatively higher than reported in general population samples. Consistent with previously reported cross‐sex shifted brain patterns among homosexual individuals, nHEW patients showed significantly larger cortical volumes than HEW in medial occipital brain regions.ConclusionWe found evidence for a sex‐reversed difference in cortical volume among nonheterosexual female patients, which provides insights into the neurobiology of sexual orientation, and may provide the first clues toward a better neurobiological understanding of the association between sexual orientation and mental health. We also suggest that sexual orientation is an important factor to consider in future neuroimaging studies of populations with certain mental health disorders.
Highlights
Nonheterosexual individuals have substantially higher risks for common psychiatric morbidity including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Branstrom, 2017; Frisell, Lichtenstein, Rahman, & Langstrom, 2010; Sandfort, de Graaf, Bijl, & Schnabel, 2001)
We studied sexual orientation in adult psychiatric patients with bipolar disorder (BD) or ADHD in a large clinical cohort (N = 154)
We suggest that sexual orientation is an important factor to consider in future neuroimaging studies of populations with certain mental health disorders
Summary
Nonheterosexual individuals have substantially higher risks for common psychiatric morbidity including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Branstrom, 2017; Frisell, Lichtenstein, Rahman, & Langstrom, 2010; Sandfort, de Graaf, Bijl, & Schnabel, 2001). Higher prevalence of same-sex sexual behavior has been observed in clinical psychiatric patients. Methods: We studied sexual orientation in adult psychiatric patients with bipolar disorder (BD) or ADHD in a large clinical cohort (N = 154). Consistent with previously reported cross-sex shifted brain patterns among homosexual individuals, nHEW patients showed significantly larger cortical volumes than HEW in medial occipital brain regions. Conclusion: We found evidence for a sex-reversed difference in cortical volume among nonheterosexual female patients, which provides insights into the neurobiology of sexual orientation, and may provide the first clues toward a better neurobiological understanding of the association between sexual orientation and mental health. We suggest that sexual orientation is an important factor to consider in future neuroimaging studies of populations with certain mental health disorders
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