Unhealthy, Unsafe Behaviors More Common in LGB Youth

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth have higher prevalence rates of risky health behaviors compared with heterosexual students, a new population-based study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows.

With a median of 63.8% for all risk behaviors measured, the prevalence of health risk behaviors among gay or lesbian students was higher than rates in heterosexual students. Further, the prevalence among bisexual students was higher than the prevalence among heterosexual students for a median 76% of all the risk behaviors measured.

The study also showed gay or lesbian students were more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to report behaviors related to violence, attempted suicide, tobacco use, alcohol use, other drug use, sexual behaviors, and weight management.

"This report should be a wake-up call for families, schools, and communities that we need to do a much better job of supporting these young people. Any effort to promote adolescent health and safety must take into account the additional stressors these youth experience because of their sexual orientation, such as stigma, discrimination, and victimization. We are very concerned that these students face such dramatic disparities for so many different health risks," study author Howard Wechsler, EdD, MPH, director of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), said in a statement.

The findings are published June 6 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Surveillance Summary.

According to the study authors, there is a need for population-based data on the health risk behaviors practiced by sexual minority youths at the state and local levels to "effectively monitor and ensure the effectiveness of public health interventions designed to address the needs of this population."

In what is reportedly the first time the federal government has conducted such a large and wide-ranging analysis, the researchers analyzed data from youth risk behavior surveys conducted among grade 9 to 12 students from 2001 to 2009 in 7 states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin, as well as 6 large urban school districts in Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York City, San Diego, and San Francisco.

The surveys assessed 76 health risks in the following 10 categories:

Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries;
Behaviors that contribute to violence;
Behaviors related to attempted suicide;
Tobacco use;
Alcohol use;
Other drug use;
Sexual behaviors;
Dietary behaviors;
Physical activity and sedentary behaviors; and
Weight management.

Across the sites that assessed sexual identity, gay or lesbian students had higher prevalence rates for 49% to 90% of all health risks measured. Similarly, bisexual students had higher prevalence rates for 57% to 86% of all health risks measure.

"For youth to thrive in their schools and communities, they need to feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe and supported," said Laura Kann, PhD, chief, Surveillance and Evaluation Research Branch, DASH.

"Schools and communities should take concrete steps to promote healthy environments for all students, such as prohibiting violence and bullying, creating safe spaces where young people can receive support from caring adults, and improving health education and health services to meet the needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth."