Several studies have shown that lesbian and bisexual women have a much higher chance of dying earlier than heterosexual women. According to a research by Sarah McKetta, MD, PhD et al., lesbians have a 2.4% early mortality rate, whereas bisexuals have a 5.5% risk.
How Much Earlier Are Lesbian And Bisexual Women Dying?
Researchers monitored a group of female nurses from the United States for several years to examine how long they survived and whether their sexual orientation affected their health. The majority of the participants were heterosexual, however some were lesbian or bisexual. These researchers discovered that lesbians and bisexuals die earlier than heterosexual women.
They discovered that roughly 7 out of every 100 lesbians died throughout the study period, while about 10 out of every 100 bisexuals died. Only around 5 out of 100 heterosexual women died. As a result, the study concludes that lesbians and bisexuals face increased health risks and require extra support to remain healthy and live longer lives.
What’s Causing This Health Disparity?
While scientists and researchers have made progress in identifying the differences between lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women, studies continue to reveal that LGB women, particularly lesbians and bisexuals, frequently have poorer health outcomes. You may be wondering what the reason for this health difference is. Let’s look into the various causes of the disparity.
Discrimination in healthcare: Women’s sexual orientation can occasionally affect how they are treated by healthcare professionals for a variety of reasons, including stigma and discrimination, misconceptions, a lack of understanding on the part of the healthcare professional, and finally challenges to disclosure on the part of lesbian or bisexual women. For instance, the healthcare provider may fail to recommend STI testing or have conversations with lesbian or bisexual women about safer sexual behaviors.
Additionally, a lesbian or bisexual woman may be reluctant to talk about mental health conditions like anxiety or depression out of fear of being misinterpreted or stigmatized.
Minority stress: This word describes constant stress that lesbian and bisexual women suffer as a result of how society regards them based on their sexual orientation. This can be especially challenging for lesbian and bisexual women under the age of 18. These individuals are still figuring out who they are and how to navigate their social environments.
Often, they may turn to heavy drinking or smoking as a coping mechanism for the stress and anxiety that society imposes. They might even avoid going to the hospital as a result of this fear of receiving poor care or being criticized. Their susceptibility to cardiac issues and even suicidal thoughts may increase as a result of this pressure, which could ultimately result in their death.
Socioeconomic factors: The workplace is another arena where LGB women face discrimination. They might even receive very little assistance from their families, in addition to facing discrimination at work. Their capacity to pay for wholesome food and medical care may be impacted by this.
Bottom Line – How To Address This Issue
All of this is a result of miscommunication between the affected individuals and healthcare professionals. I recall a salesperson scolding me for buying too many of the biscuits. He gave me a long speech about how unhealthy sugar is, and to be honest, I didn’t really care all that much. He would never know that I wasn’t buying these biscuits to eat them at once because he was judging a book by its cover. The salesman also had a cigarette at hand while he gave me his two cents.
The question is: why judge? His role as a salesperson is to promote things and sell to customers regardless of what they buy. Likewise, it shouldn’t who strides into the hospital to seek treatment, the person should be attended to. A healthcare provider should not assume a woman is heterosexual and fail to inquire about her sexual history or special health requirements associated with same-sex partnerships. The healthcare provider should gather detailed information from the patient in order to provide a more accurate diagnosis.
The same possibilities that heterosexual women have should be extended to lesbians and bisexuals: the ability to work, learn, etc. Their general health would benefit from all of these and many other doable tactics that would lessen the weight of discrimination and stigma.
