Conversely, gay and bisexual men have higher Life’s Essential 8 cardiovascular health scores than heterosexual men<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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WEDNESDAY, May 17, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Cardiovascular health disparities are seen in sexual minority adults, especially for lesbian and bisexual women, according to a study published online May 17 in the Journal of the American Heart Association<\/em>.<\/p>\n Omar Deraz, D.M.D., M.P.H., from the Universit \u00a9 Paris Cit \u00a9, and colleagues estimated the association of Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) and Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) cardiovascular health scores with sexual minority status in a nationwide French epidemiological cohort study. Data were included for 169,434 cardiovascular disease-free adults: 90,879 women (555 lesbian, 3,149 bisexual, and 84,363 heterosexual) and 78,555 men (2,421 gay, 2,748 bisexual, and 70,994 heterosexual).<\/p>\n The researchers found that compared with heterosexual women, lesbian and bisexual women had a lower LE8 cardiovascular health score (\u00ce\u00b2 = \u00e2\u0088\u00920.95 and \u00e2\u0088\u00920.78, respectively) in multivariable models. Conversely, compared with heterosexual men, gay and bisexual men had a higher LE8 cardiovascular health score (\u00ce\u00b2 = 2.72 and 0.83, respectively). For the LS7 score, the findings were consistent, although of smaller magnitude.<\/p>\n “Overcoming preventive care barriers in sexual minority subgroups and understanding community perspectives are essential for cardiovascular disease prevention in this population,” Deraz said in a statement. “Improving cultural competency among care providers and raising awareness may result in better cardiovascular health communication, monitoring, and referrals.”<\/p>\n