In a recent national study conducted in France, lesbian and bisexual women had worse cardiovascular health scores than heterosexual women.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, also revealed that gay and bisexual men tend to have better cardiovascular health scores than heterosexual men; however, rural sexual minority men had worse cardiovascular health than heterosexual men.
The study included 169,434 adults without cardiovascular disease and assessed nicotine exposure, diet, physical activity, body mass index, sleep health, blood glucose, blood pressure and blood lipids.
“Overcoming barriers to preventive care in sexual minority subgroups and understanding community perspectives are essential for CVD prevention in this population. Enhanced cultural competence among caregivers and awareness can result in better communication, follow-up, and referrals about cardiovascular health,” said corresponding author Omar Deraz, DMD, MPH, Paris Cité University. “Structural biases and socioeconomic disadvantages and psychosocial disproportionately affect LGBT+ people and are relevant determinants of cardiovascular health”.
REFERENCE