Patterson JG, et al. - The intention of the authors was to inspect the chronic disease disparities by sexual orientation measurement among sexual minorities. The findings unveiled that the manner of defining sexual orientation exerted an impact on the comprehension of the chronic disease prevalence. Capturing subgroups of sexual minority people in health surveillance was crucial for the detection of groups most at-risk and for the formulation of targeted interventions to reduce chronic disease disparities.

Methods

• Data was cumulated from the 2009-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.
• Researchers coveted an evaluation of the variations in chronic disease prevalence between heterosexual and sexual minority people as defined by sexual identity, lifetime sexual behavior, 12-month sexual behavior, and concordance of lifetime sexual behavior and sexual identity.

Results

• Greater odds of asthma (aOR = 3.19; 95% CI = 1.37, 7.47), and chronic bronchitis (aOR = 2.64; 95% CI = 1.21, 5.72) were discovered among self-identified lesbian women reported than self-identified heterosexual women.
• The findings also displayed greater odds of arthritis (aOR = 1.67; 95% CI = 1.02, 2.74) in self-identified sexual minority women with a history of same-sex sexual behavior reported.
• Gay men illustrated greater odds of chronic bronchitis when sexual orientation was defined by sexual identity (aOR = 4.68; 95% CI = 1.90, 11.56) or 12-month sexual behavior (aOR = 3.22; 95% CI = 1.27, 8.20), as did bisexual men defined by lifetime sexual behavior (aOR = 2.36; 95% CI = 1.14, 4.89), compared to heterosexual men.
• When estimated by lifetime sexual behavior, bisexual men presented with greater odds of asthma (aOR = 1.90; 95% CI = 1.12, 3.19), along with self-identified heterosexual men with a history of same-sex sexual behavior (aOR = 2.21; 95% CI = 1.10, 4.46).