Sexual Orientation Identity and Its Implication in the Disparities in Psychological Health-Related Quality of Life

• Published in: American journal of health promotion 2021-11, Vol.35 (8), p.1121-1124
• Main Authors: Xie, Hui, Li, Yannan, Turner, Cailtin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Bisexuality; Cisgender; Female; Health behavior; Health care access; Health disparities; Health promotion; Health status; Heterosexuality; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Latin American cultural groups; Male; Mental health; Psychological well being; Purpose in life; Quality of Life; Racial Groups; Risk behavior; Risk factors; Sexual and Gender Minorities; Sexual Behavior; Sexual orientation; Surveillance; United States; Women
• ISSN: 0890-1171; 2168-6602
• DOI: 10.1177/08901171211019898

Purpose: To examine disparities in psychological health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among sexual minority women within racial/ethnic subgroups. Design: A secondary analysis of the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). Setting: United States. Subjects: Noninstitutionalized, cisgender, adult women in the U.S (unweighted n = 81,947). Measures: Socioeconomics, health behaviors, and healthcare access as risk factors, whereas 1 item measures psychological HRQoL as an outcome. Analysis: Weighted multivariable logistic regressions to estimate the odds of having adversely psychological HRQoL in relation to sexual orientation and other correlates within a racial/ethnic subgroup independently. Results: The prevalence of adverse psychological HRQoL was greater in bisexual and “other” sexual orientation women. Both bisexual (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.58; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26-2.00) and “other” sexual orientation (Aor = 1.93; 95%CI = 1.26-2.96) had greater adjusted odds of adversely psychological HRQoLcompared to their heterosexual peers in non-Hispanic White women. Bisexual women (aOR = 3.42; 95%CI = 1.98-5.88) had greater adjusted odds of adversely psychological HRQoLcompared to their heterosexual peers in Latinas. No similar pattern was observed in non-Hispanic Black women. Conclusion: Disparities in psychological HRQoL varied by sexual orientation identities within different racial/ethnic subgroups. The magnitude of the association for Latina bisexual women was strong. Implications for bisexual health among people with intersecting identities are discussed.