Adults identifying as bisexual or ‘something else’ have highest prevalence of chronic pain<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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THURSDAY, May 11, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Sexual minority adults who identify as bisexual or “something else” have a significantly higher prevalence of chronic pain than gay\/lesbian or straight adults, according to a study published online March 30 in PAIN<\/em>. <\/p>\n Anna Zajacova, Ph.D., from the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, and colleagues assessed chronic pain prevalence among sexual minority U.S. adults who self-identify as gay\/lesbian, bisexual, or “something else.” The analysis included adults (aged 18 to 64 years) with general chronic pain (134,266 patients) or chronic pain in three or more sites (95,675 patients).<\/p>\n The researchers found that Americans who self-identify as bisexual or “something else” have the highest general chronic pain prevalence (23.7 and 27.0 percent, respectively) versus 21.7 percent among gay\/lesbian adults and 17.2 percent among straight adults. Disparities are even larger for people with pain in three or more sites, with age-adjusted prevalence more than twice as high among adults who self-identify as bisexual or “something else” and 50 percent higher among gay\/lesbian versus straight adults. Socioeconomic status and health care variables explained only a modest proportion of these disparities, while psychological distress was the most salient correlate with disparities.<\/p>\n “Findings thus indicate that even in an era of meaningful social and political advances, sexual minority American adults have significantly more chronic pain than their straight counterparts,” the authors write.<\/p>\n