2010/06/02 by Kerith J. Conron, Matthew J. Mimiaga, Stewart J. Landers +1 · 868 citations
Medicine · Psychology · #Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System #Clinical psychology #Demography #Environmental health #Gerontology #HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions #Health equity #Homosexuality #Human sexuality #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy #Medicine #Poison control #Population #Psychology #Public health #Sexual identity #Sexual minority #Sexual orientation #Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology #Social psychology #Suicidal ideation #Suicide prevention
paper · open access · doi:10.2105/ajph.2009.174169
published in American Journal of Public Health 100(10), 1953-1960 (American Public Health Association)
openalex publication_date 2010/06/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
OBJECTIVES: We provide estimates of several leading US adult health indicators by sexual orientation identity and gender to fill gaps in the current literature. METHODS: We aggregated data from the 2001-2008 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance surveys (N = 67,359) to examine patterns in self-reported health by sexual orientation identity and gender, using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Compared with heterosexuals, sexual minorities (i.e., gays/lesbians, 2% of sample; bisexuals, 1%) were more likely to report activity limitation, tension or worry, smoking, drug use, asthma, lifetime sexual victimization, and HIV testing, but did not differ on 3-year Papanicolaou tests, lifetime mammography, diabetes, or heart disease. Compared with heterosexuals, bisexuals reported more barriers to health care, current sadness, past-year suicidal ideation, and cardiovascular disease risk. Gay men were less likely to be overweight or obese and to obtain prostate-specific antigen tests, and lesbians were more likely to be obese and to report multiple risks for cardiovascular disease. Binge drinking and lifetime physical intimate partner victimization were more common among bisexual women. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual orientation disparities in chronic disease risk, victimization, health care access, mental health, and smoking merit increased attention. More research on heterogeneity in health and health determinants among sexual minorities is needed.