Objectives:
Extensive data suggests that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults are more likely to experience adverse cardiovascular outcomes relative to heterosexuals. However, evidence regarding cardiovascular health (CVH) disparities and sexual orientation is scarce. The aim of this study was to examine the distribution of CVH metrics in a US nationally representative population of heterosexual (HT), and LGB adults.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study analyzed 2445 participants (representing 115 million) adults aged 18 or over years in the 2011-2012 NHANES survey. The CVH factors of smoking, body mass index (BMI), physical activity (PA), diet, blood pressure (BP), total cholesterol (TC) and glucose (GLU) were measured. Each CVH factor was then classified as ideal; intermediate; or poor. Ideal CVH was defined as presence of >=5 ideal CVH metrics.
Results:
95.1% of the weighted sample self-identified as HT (95% CI: 93.5%, 96.6%) compared to 4.9% (95%: 3.3%, 6.5%) LGB. The figure illustrates the distribution of each of the 7 CVH categories according to sexual orientation. In age, gender, and race adjusted analysis, LGB individuals were 36% (AOR: 0.64; 95%: 0.29, 1.4; p > 0.05) less likely to have ideal CVH compared to HT. These proportions go higher after adjusting for age.
Conclusions:
The results suggest that LGB individuals face a higher risk of being in the category for poor cardiovascular health compared to heterosexuals. Evidence suggests that there are sexual orientation disparities among adults. If confirmed in other studies, results point towards disproportionately higher risk for cardiovascular disease among sexual-minority populations.
Figure
Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metrics on the Prevalence of Asymptomatic Intracranial Artery Stenosis: A Cross-Sectional Study
