New study shows lesbian and bisexual women die earlier than heterosexual women

In a recent study, Harvard researchers discovered a shocking fact: lesbian and bisexual women die at a much younger age than heterosexual women. In the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the research team extracted data from a large study of nursing women born between 1945 and 1964. In this study, 90,833 women revealed their sexual orientation, of which 89,821 (98.91 TP3T) were identified as heterosexual, 694 (0.81 TP3T) as lesbian, and 318 (0.41 TP3T) as bisexual.

The findings show that LGB women die earlier compared to heterosexual women. Among them, bisexual females had the shortest life expectancy, dying 37% earlier than heterosexual females. lesbian females died 20% earlier than heterosexual females, and overall, LGB females died 26% earlier than heterosexual females.

This disparity in mortality is largely due to a wide range of health disparities, including the generally poorer physical, mental, and behavioral health status of cool women compared to heterosexual women. The report notes that these health disparities are largely influenced by the social stigma faced by LGBTQ+ people.

The report emphasizes that "lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) women generally have poorer physical, mental, and behavioral health than heterosexual women." These differences are the result of chronic and cumulative stressors (including interpersonal and structural stigma) that propagate and amplify poor health throughout the life course, and these outcomes tend to become more pronounced as individuals age.

The researchers expressed concern about the disparity between bisexual women and their peers, noting that because bisexuality is "easier to hide than lesbian orientation because many bisexual women have male partners, the stressors associated with disclosing or keeping secrets may be more pronounced for bisexual women, who are less likely to reveal their identities to social networks than lesbian women.

To address these disparities, the report recommends the need for non-judgmental screening and treatment referrals for tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use. It also recommends that health care practitioners receive mandatory, culturally contextualized training on caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender patients.

The report concludes, "LGB women's health disparities are the result of structural and interpersonal marginalization that is integrated into LGB women's daily lives, systematically undermining their access to health care and health-promoting behaviors." This is a reminder that in order to achieve true health equality, society, the healthcare system, and policymakers must work together to reduce prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation and provide more inclusive and supportive environments for all.