Lesbian and bisexual women have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. However, the opposite is seen in men – gays and bisexuals have, on average, healthier heart health indicators, said in a French study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Scientists from different countries have been trying in recent years to find out if non-binary people tend to develop some kind of disease. French scientists led by Omar Deraz from the University of Paris-Cité decided to determine whether the risk of cardiovascular disease depends on gender.
To do this, they used data from 169,000 adults collected as part of the CONSTANCES (CONSulTANts des Centers d’Examens de Santé) national health study, which was conducted in France from 2012 to 2020. Of the 91 000 women who participated in the study, 93% identified as heterosexual, 3.5% as bisexual and 0.61% as lesbian. Of the 78,550 men, 90% describe themselves as heterosexual, 3.5% as bisexual and 3% as homosexual. About 3% of men and women refused to declare their sexual orientation.
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Taking into account a number of additional factors, such as hereditary predisposition, the researchers found that, on average, lesbians and bisexual women have indicators associated with the health of the heart and cardiovascular system (pressure, rate sugar and cholesterol levels) significantly worse than the other women.
On the other hand, the situation was reversed for men. Among those who identified as gay or bisexual, these rates were higher than among heterosexual men. The study also found that, on average, lesbians ate a less healthy diet than heterosexual women.
“In light of previous research, these data can be explained, at least in part, by the standard of living, i.e. poverty, poor working conditions, mental health problems, discrimination and the bad experience of applying to medical institutions,” Deraz explained.
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