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Study on health disparities and sexual orientation
Institute on Urban Health Research ^ | 11. June 2010

Posted on 06/11/2010 3:02:15 PM PDT by presidio9

A recent study conducted by Northeastern University's Institute on Urban Health Research found a significant number of health disparities in Massachusetts between heterosexual adults and gay, lesbian and bisexual adults.

Led by Kerith Conron, associate research scientist at Northeastern, in collaboration with researchers at Harvard Medical School and a private health-care consultant, the study revealed that gay men are about 33 percent less likely to be obese than heterosexual men, and lesbian women about 50 percent more likely to be obese than heterosexual women. It also identified bisexual adults, particularly women, as disproportionately burdened by poor health.

In all, significant disparities between sexual minorities and their heterosexual counterparts were observed in 16 of the 22 mental and physical health indicators examined in the study.

The study is one of the first to focus on the relationship of sexual orientation to a range of health conditions in a population-based sample, said Conron. The results were reported in the American Journal of Public Health.

Among the other findings:

• Gay men and women were more likely to be current smokers compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

• Lesbian women and bisexuals were more likely to report having multiple risk factors for heart disease.

• Sexual minorities as a whole were more likely to report experiencing some form of sexual assault during their lifetime.

"What is very clear from this data is that risk factors for chronic health problems are prevalent among sexual minorities and need to be added to our list of concerns," said Conron. "In the short run, clinicians and public health agencies need to collaborate and implement culturally appropriate health interventions."

The study was made possible by the Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, which asks respondents about their sexual orientation in addition to other demographic characteristics. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is responsible for monitoring public health through this and similar surveys.

Researchers pooled and analyzed self-report data from more than 67,000 Massachusetts residents between the ages of 18 and 64 who responded to the annual survey between 2001 and 2008.

By identifying the social factors contributing to sexual orientation health disparities, future research can help reduce their incidence over the long term, added Conron.

SOURCE Institute on Urban Health Research (IUHR)


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KEYWORDS: 42yrlifeexpectancy
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1 posted on 06/11/2010 3:02:15 PM PDT by presidio9
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To: presidio9

And we should care about this why?


2 posted on 06/11/2010 3:09:39 PM PDT by 43north (BHO: 50% white, 50% black, 100% red)
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To: presidio9

Well bust my sexual orientation bridges! I would never have surmised the deplorable inequities. I am sure there are some stimulus dollars to straighten the wretched conditions. I think that a Congressional inquiry, tax credits (refundable of course), and protected class preferences can normalize these unhealthy practices.


3 posted on 06/11/2010 3:12:22 PM PDT by businessprofessor
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To: presidio9

It would be interesting to see a broad study on what resources heterosexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals, and transvestites use.

My hunch is that heterosexuals would be using the least resources.


4 posted on 06/11/2010 3:14:38 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (J. D. Hayworth, the next Senator, the Great State of Arizona - Sen. Poopdeck, Panama is calling...)
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To: presidio9
Do they go into the hazards of having sex with a horse and getting internal damage for the act and dieing?
5 posted on 06/11/2010 3:14:42 PM PDT by guitarplayer1953 (Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to GOD! Thomas Jefferson)
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To: presidio9

Doesn’t take a genius to discover that actions have consequences.


6 posted on 06/11/2010 3:15:21 PM PDT by mrmeyer ("When brute force is on the march, compromise is the red carpet." Ayn Rand)
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To: presidio9

Oddly, they appeared to overlook the fact that male homos are the #1 vector for the spread of infectious diseases and incubators for antibiotic resistant microbes—this is the big issue, not obesity for crying out loud. You can’t infect other people with obesity or tobacco.


7 posted on 06/11/2010 3:22:40 PM PDT by Neoliberalnot ((Read "The Grey Book" for an alternative to corruption in DC))
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To: presidio9

Whatever happened to AIDS anyway? When the homosexuals were looking for sympathy and public acceptance, AIDS was a big deal. Don’t hear much about it anymore. Weird.


8 posted on 06/11/2010 3:23:38 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer ("Bush made me do it!" - Barack Hussein Obama)
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To: DoughtyOne

That would be impossible study to perform.

We can’t even get an accurate study that shows how many homosexuals there are... studies have shown that homosexuals are anywhere between 5-15% of the population and if you include “bisexuals” it could go as high as 30%. But then other studies conflict those findings.

Problem is you can never get a true represenative sample because it appears the number of homosexuals differs by location. So unless we make it a census question and ask everyone, we are never going to know how many there really are.

Unless of course you live in Iran where Ahmadinejad claims there are zero homosexuals in his country.


9 posted on 06/11/2010 3:24:13 PM PDT by jerry557
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To: presidio9

Leftists will argue that it is because of bigotry and that we need more hate crimes laws to improve their general health.


10 posted on 06/11/2010 3:25:57 PM PDT by Soothesayer (We are completely ******!)
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To: jerry557

Show us a scientific study that shows anywhere near 10-15% of Americans are homosexual. I don’t believe it.


11 posted on 06/11/2010 3:27:56 PM PDT by iowamark
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To: jerry557

I’m not convinced that anything near 5-15% of society is homosexual.

My take on it is that there are about one or two percent who are homosexual.

As for bi-sexuals, we have the media trying to bump that up as much as they can. I still don’t consider that to be dyed in the wool homosexuality. It’s temporary misdirection, and by design.

How do you bump up support for homosexuality? Why you convince folks they are something they aren’t, or blatantly try to get them to adopt the homosexual lifestyle.


12 posted on 06/11/2010 3:32:42 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (J. D. Hayworth, the next Senator, the Great State of Arizona - Sen. Poopdeck, Panama is calling...)
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To: iowamark

I dont have the links... but there are studies that show 3% of the population and others that show as much as 10 or 15%.

Like I said, the problem is in the sampling and whether or not the people part of the study is being truthful. So there are wide flucuations in the results.

It depends on the location. You do this study in San Franchisco for example, you are going to have a very high number compared to most other cities in the country. The samples are never going to be consistant.


13 posted on 06/11/2010 3:33:15 PM PDT by jerry557
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To: presidio9

It’s all about the y chromosome and testosterone levels. That explains the whole disparity. < /sarc >


14 posted on 06/11/2010 3:36:29 PM PDT by OrangeHoof (Washington, we Texans want a divorce!)
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To: DoughtyOne
Gee who knows? We could ask hookers what it costs them to get their rectums rebuilt or shortened, since they have to use that procedure as well and would be more open to answering the inquiries.

What about the cost of hormonal injections, to their health and to healthcare with the aftereffects? Such a huge field of questions, so little time.

15 posted on 06/11/2010 3:36:38 PM PDT by gidget7 ("When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property." Thomas Jefferson)
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To: iowamark

Recent studies show 3-4% of the population consider themselves “gay”. The 10-15% that we’re used to hearing about came from the Kinsey Sex Studies, which have been scientifically refuted as completely bogus.

The fact that male homosexuals are lean and female homosexuals are fat tells me that the underlying cause of gayness is anything but physiological. These data point to psychological differences between gay males and females that are diametric opposites to chemistry or organic genesis.


16 posted on 06/11/2010 3:39:32 PM PDT by downtownconservative
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To: presidio9

See, see, see! Told you! Straight people really do discriminate against homosexuals!

Don’t you feel awful?

Now give us your tax money so we build monuments to our gayness.

/sarc


17 posted on 06/11/2010 3:43:18 PM PDT by Tzimisce (No thanks. We have enough government already. - The Tick)
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To: gidget7

Well Gidget, you’d have to include the realm of prostitution in it I suppose.

I’d like to think most men don’t actually participate in it.

A percentage actually do. Whatever percentage does, is definitely smaller than the percentage of homosexuals who engage in problematic behavior. I suppose that could be said of bisexual behavior as well.


18 posted on 06/11/2010 3:43:27 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (J. D. Hayworth, the next Senator, the Great State of Arizona - Sen. Poopdeck, Panama is calling...)
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To: jerry557

I dont know what the number is but the number is not my point. My point is that we are never going to know the true number because of sample inconsistancies as well as people who think they are gay and really arn’t.

You know how many girls are out there these days who say they are “bisexual” because they think its the cool thing to be today? If a researcher comes upon one of these fakers and asks them if they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual...they will say “yes.” And that skews the results.


19 posted on 06/11/2010 3:43:56 PM PDT by jerry557
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To: presidio9

Wait until they get to life expectancy.

Oh, wait, they don’t want to go there.


20 posted on 06/11/2010 3:51:39 PM PDT by Balding_Eagle (Overproduction, one of the top five worries of the American Farmer each and every year..)
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