Young sexual minority women, including those identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), were found to have higher elevated odds of adverse health conditions than heterosexual young women and lower odds of receiving a physical or dental examination. The results from a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine highlight the multidimensionality of sexual minority status and call for greater understanding of the health needs of LGBT youth.
"We noticed that the 2011 report from the Institute of Medicine about lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual health highlighted how little we know specific to young adulthood ā defined as late teenage years through early 30s," said lead study author Kelly Strutz, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Michigan State University.
Building on literature suggesting that young adult sexual minorities had a higher risk of poor mental health outcomes and substance abuse, the authors investigated physical health and health care access using 2008 data of over 13,000 participants age 24-32 obtained for the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Health assessments and sexual minority classification data came from respondents' self-reports.
[For more of this story, written by Stephanie Stephens, go to http://www.cfah.org/hbns/2014/...for-lgbt-young-women]
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