Abstract
BackgroundResearch has shown that sexual minorities (SMs) (e.g. lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals), compared to their heterosexual counterparts, may engage in riskier health behaviors, are at higher risk of some adverse health outcomes, and are more likely to experience reduced health care access and utilization. However, few studies have examined how the interplay between race and sexual orientation impacts a range of health measures in a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population.MethodsTo address these gaps in the literature, we sought to investigate associations between sexual orientation identity and health/healthcare outcomes among U.S. women and men within and across racial/ethnic groups. Using 2013–2015 National Health Interview Survey data (N = 91,913) we employed Poisson regression with robust variance to directly estimate prevalence ratios (PR) comparing health and healthcare outcomes among SMs of color to heterosexuals of color and white heterosexuals, stratified by gender and adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsThe sample consisted of 52% women, with approximately 2% of each sex identifying as SMs. Compared to their heterosexual counterparts, white (PR = 1.25 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08–1.45]) and black (1.54 [1.07, 2.20]) SM women were more likely to report heavy drinking. Hispanic/Latino SM women and men were more likely to experience short sleep duration compared to white heterosexual women (1.33 [1.06, 1.66]) and men (1.51 [1.21, 1.90). Black SM women had a much higher prevalence of stroke compared to black heterosexual women (3.25 [1.63, 6.49]) and white heterosexual women (4.51 [2.16, 9.39]). White SM women were more likely than white heterosexual women to be obese (1.31 [1.15, 1.48]), report cancer (1.40 [1.07, 1.82]) and report stroke (1.91 [1.16, 3.15]. White (2.41 [2.24, 2.59]), black (1.40[1.20, 1.63]), and Hispanic/Latino SM (2.17 [1.98, 2.37]) men were more likely to have been tested for HIV than their heterosexual counterparts.ConclusionsSexual minorities had a higher prevalence of some poor health behaviors, health outcomes, and healthcare access issues, and these disparities differed across racial groups. Further research is needed to investigate potential pathways, such as discrimination, in the social environment that may help explain the relationship between sexual orientation and health.
Highlights
Research has shown that sexual minorities (SMs), compared to their heterosexual counterparts, may engage in riskier health behaviors, are at higher risk of some adverse health outcomes, and are more likely to experience reduced health care access and utilization
Compared to white heterosexual women, white SM women were more likely to report heavy drinking (PR = 1.25 [95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.08,1.45]); black SM women were more likely than black heterosexual women to report heavy drinking (PR = 1.54 [95% CI: 1.07, 2.20])
As well as being more likely to be current drinkers compared to heterosexual men of the same race/ethnicity (Table 2), white (PR = 1.14 [[95% CI: 1.10, 1.18]), black (PR = 1.14 [[95% CI: 1.01, 1.29]), and Hispanic/Latino (PR = 1.10 [95% CI: 1.00, 1.21]) SM men were more likely to be current alcohol drinkers than white heterosexual men (Table 4)
Summary
Research has shown that sexual minorities (SMs) (e.g. lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals), compared to their heterosexual counterparts, may engage in riskier health behaviors, are at higher risk of some adverse health outcomes, and are more likely to experience reduced health care access and utilization. Previous studies have shown that sexual minorities (SM; e.g., lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals) are more likely to engage in health risk behaviors, including smoking and heavy drinking [1,2,3], and are at higher risk of poor health outcomes, such as obesity and cardiovascular disease [4, 5], compared to their heterosexual peers. Intersectionality provides an important theoretical framework for empirical researchers to consider how the interactions of multiple, individual-level social identities and structural-level social inequalities explain disparate health outcomes [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
