Sexual Minority Health Disparities: An Examination of Age-Related Trends Across Adulthood In a National Cross-Sectional Sample

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Ann Epidemiol
• Personal Author:
  Rice, Cara Exten ; Vasilenko, Sara A. ; Fish, Jessica N. ; Lanza, Stephanie T.
• Description:
  Background. ; Sexual minorities (experience significant health disparities across a variety of mental, behavioral, and physical health indicators. Yet, an understanding of the etiology and progression of sexual minority health disparities across the lifespan is limited. ; Methods. ; We used the US National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions III to evaluate the association between sexual minority status and seven past-year health outcomes (alcohol use disorder, tobacco use disorder, drug use disorder, major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, sexually transmitted infection, and cardiovascular conditions). To do this, we used unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression among our study sample (n=30,999; aged 18–65) and time-varying effect models to evaluate how sexual orientation differences in these outcomes vary across adulthood. ; Results. ; Relative to heterosexuals, sexual minorities had elevated odds of past-year alcohol use disorder and drug use disorder across all ages (18 to 65 years), though the magnitude of the disparity varies by age. Sexual minorities were also more likely to experience higher rates of major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, tobacco use disorder, sexually transmitted infection, and cardiovascular disease, but only at specific ages. ; Conclusion. ; Sexual minority health disparities vary appreciably across the adult lifespan, thus elucidating critical periods for focused prevention efforts.
• Subjects:
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Depressive Disorder, Major
  • Female
  • Health Status Disparities
  • Humans
  • Male
  More +
• Keywords:
  • LGB
  • sexual minority
  • public health
  • health inequalities
  • epidemiology
  • public health
  • sexually transmitted diseases
  • substance abuse
• Source:
  Ann Epidemiol. 31:20-25
• Pubmed ID:
  30792064
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC6606453
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  F32 AA023138/AA/NIAAA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; P50 DA039838/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 DA039854/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; U48 DP006382/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  31
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/88144/cdc_88144_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 351.96 KB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e43eba49a3a5c67fa408b18b543565f5d408c952bbb8424b3178dfa3cf791ee6b2becd224884c53b58906f4daada36b18d42d70d4008a7cdbbf7abdedb7aa369