Bisexual and lesbian women died 26% earlier than straight peers in long-term study

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-04-26 01:00

International

PHOTO: Rob Maxwell/Unsplash

Data from more than 90,000 nurses studied over the course of 27 years found bisexual- and lesbian-identified nurses died earlier than their straight counterparts. Bisexual women in particular had the most pronounced disparities in all-cause mortality, dying 37% earlier (lesbian participants died 20% earlier), and having a 50% higher rate of hypertension than heterosexual participants. The team says these dramatic differences highlight the burden of health disparities faced by lesbian and bisexual women.

Journal/
conference: JAMA

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Harvard University, USA;

Funder: The Nurses’ Health Study II was supported by grant U01CA176726 from the National Cancer Institute. The current work was supported by grant R01MD015256 from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (Dr McKetta, Mr Hoatson, and Drs Everett, Haneuse, Austin, and Charlton). Dr McKetta was additionally supported by the Thomas O. Pyle fellowship through the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, grant T32HL098048 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, grant R01MH112384 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and grant 187958 from the William T. Grant Foundation. Dr Charlton was additionally supported by grant MRSG CPHPS 130006 from the American Cancer Society. Dr Austin was additionally supported by training grant T76MC00001 from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, US Health Resources and Services Administration.

Media Contact/s

Contact details are only visible to registered journalists.