OBJECTIVES This study aims to investigate health disparities between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults and the general population in Korea, where there is low public acceptance of sexual minorities and a lack of research on the health of sexual minorities.
METHODS
The research team conducted a nationwide survey of 2,335 Korean LGB adults in 2016. Using the dataset, we estimated the age-standardized prevalence ratios (SPRs) for poor self-rated health, musculoskeletal pain, depressive symptoms, suicidal behaviors, smoking, and hazardous drinking. We then compared the SPRs of the LGB adults and the general population which participated in three different nationally representative surveys in Korea. SPRs were estimated for each of the four groups (i.e., gay men, bisexual men, lesbians, and bisexual women).
RESULTS
Korean LGB adults exhibited a statistically significantly higher prevalence of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation and attempts, and musculoskeletal pain than the general population. Lesbian and bisexual women had a higher risk of poor self-rated health and smoking than the general women population, whereas gay and bisexual men showed no differences with the general men population. Higher prevalence of hazardous drinking was observed among lesbians, gay men, and bisexual women compared to the general population, but was not observed in bisexual men.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that LGB adults have poorer health conditions compared to the general population in Korea. These results suggest that interventions are needed to address the health disparities of Korean LGB adults.
Summary
Korean summary
본 연구는 만 19세 이상의 한국 성인 동성애자와 양성애자를 대상으로 이들의 건강상태에 대한 설문조사를 시행하고, 수집한 자료를 분석하여 동성애자·양성애자의 건강불평등 실태를 파악하고자 하였다. 본 연구의 목적은 자가평가건강, 정신건강(우울, 자살생각 및 자살시도), 신체적 건강(근골격계 통증) 및 건강관련행동(흡연율, 위험음주율)을 포함하여 다양한 측면에서 한국 성인 동성애자·양성애자와 일반인구집단의 건강수준을 비교하는 것이다.
Citations
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