Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Live Long And Prosper

But if you are LGB that might not be the case.
Health of gay and straight people compared in first major survey
WVLT Local8Now.com
Updated: Jul 15, 2014

(CBS) - Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people may be more likely to smoke, drink excessively, and experience serious psychological distress, compared with heterosexual people, but in some other health-related areas they fare better, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report marks the first time that the CDC has looked at health disparities among lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations on a national level. CDC researchers recently added an option for people participating in the agency's National Health Interview Survey to indicate their sexual orientation.
[…]
The researchers found that a higher percentage of gay or lesbian (35.1 percent) and bisexual people (41.5 percent) said they had five or more drinks on one day at least once in the past year, compared with those who identified themselves as straight (26 percent). Similarly, a higher percentage of gay, lesbian and bisexual people reported being smokers, compared with straight participants. [5 Myths About Gay People Debunked]
I cannot but wonder how much this is due to being marginalized by society. The article goes on to say,
"There's certainly a lot of social stress for people who are living in places where they are being treated unequally based on their sexual orientation," Greene said. "We also definitely have unequal access to healthcare benefits, for people who are living in places where healthcare benefits are not translated to same-sex spouses."
I know from personal experience that once I came out, my stress levels dropped way down and some of my medical problems disappeared. When you have to hide a part of your life it is extremely stressful.

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