Study reveals cardiovascular health disparities based on sexual orientation

In a recent nationwide study from France, lesbian and bisexual women had worse cardiovascular health scores than heterosexual women. The study, which is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, also found that gay and bisexual men tended to have better cardiovascular health scores compared with heterosexual men; however, rural-residing sexual minority men had worse cardiovascular health compared with heterosexual men.

The study included 169,434 cardiovascular disease–free adults and assessed nicotine exposure, diet, physical activity, body mass index, sleep health, blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids.

“Overcoming preventive care barriers in sexual minority sub-groups and understanding community perspectives are essential for cardiovascular disease prevention in this population. Improving cultural competency among care providers and raising awareness may result in better cardiovascular health communication, monitoring, and referrals,” said corresponding author Omar Deraz, DMD, MPH, of Paris Cité University. “Structural biases and socioeconomic and psychosocial disadvantages disproportionately affect LGBT+ individuals and are relevant cardiovascular health determinants.”