Lesbian and bisexual women at higher risk of heart disease, study finds

Cardiologists should ask patients about their sexual orientation during heart checks, researchers say.

The recommendation came from a study that found that lesbian and bisexual women have a higher risk of heart disease than their heterosexual counterparts. Meanwhile, gay men had a lower risk compared to heterosexual men of the same age.

The medics said knowing a patient’s sexuality could “help improve” the health care provided to patients and lead them to receive more advice on how to prevent heart disease.

Asking about patients’ sexual orientation is not routine, but is more common in sexual health clinics where the type of sexual partner one has can affect one’s risk of disease.

The above shows the heart health scores by group between men and women. It was calculated using the American Heart Association LE8 method, which takes into account factors such as exercise level, diet and smoking status

It’s not clear why sexual minorities were at higher risk for heart disease, but discrimination and higher poverty rates may be behind the data. It has long been known that LGBT groups are at higher risk for multiple health problems, including depression – a risk factor for heart problems.

Lead author of the study Dr. Omar Deraz, a doctoral candidate at Université Paris Cite in France, said: ‘Improving cultural competence and awareness of cardiovascular disease risk in adults with a sexual minority can help promote conversations between doctors and patients about cardiovascular health. to improve, including prevention and prevention. management.

“Understanding and overcoming barriers to health care access is essential to improve cardiovascular disease prevention and care for sexual minorities.”

In the study, researchers looked at 170,000 people who were about 46 years old and lived in France.

Of the 91,000 women, 93 percent said they were heterosexual, 3.5 percent said they were bisexual, and 1 percent identified as lesbian.

Of the 78,550 men, 90 percent said they were heterosexual, 3.5 percent bisexual and three percent homosexual.

In both groups, about three percent of the participants refused to answer.

Each participant was then asked about heart health factors, including diet, exercise, smoking status, sleep, body mass index (BMI), and blood test data.

The numbers were then used by scientists to calculate a heart health score using a method designed by the American Heart Association.

The results showed that, among women, those who were lesbian or bisexual had lower heart health scores than their heterosexual peers.

But among women who were pregnant, those who had sexual minority status had better heart health scores. The reasons are not clear.

For men, those who identified as gay had better heart health scores than their heterosexual peers.

The researchers suggested that people from sexual minorities may be at higher risk for heart problems because of mental health issues.

This is more common in the group, probably due to societal pressure, and can lead to unhealthy coping behaviors such as drinking more alcohol, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle.

LGBT people are also more likely to live in poverty, data shows, which may lead to more unhealthy diets high in ultra-processed foods.

The above shows the heart health scores for participants based on the American Heart Association’s LS7 method. The LE8 looks at non-HDL cholesterol, while LS7 looks at total cholesterol only.

But the better heart health scores in gay men may be due to lifestyle factors.

Studies have previously suggested that gay men are more likely to have a better diet and less likely to be overweight.

Dr. Deraz added, “While this data may not be fully applicable to other countries, it is important research on a population that is grossly underrepresented in clinical and epidemiological studies.

“To fully address discrimination and inequalities that impact health, we need to better recognize and understand the unique experiences of all individuals and populations, including sexual minorities.”

The article was published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

It comes after another study that found in March that bisexual women were more likely to have heart disease than their heterosexual peers.

Scientists warned that sexual orientation may be a previously unknown risk of cardiovascular problems.

They believe marginalization may have something to do with the finding, but accept that it is unusual.

Increased risks were not recorded in gay women or gay or bisexual men in the study.