Study suggests LGB adults remain at higher risk of poor mental health, alcohol abuse

A new study led by University College London (UCL) researchers, in collaboration with the University of East Anglia and City, University of London, has recently suggests that Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) adults are more susceptible to mental health problems and report alcohol and drug misuse than heterosexual people due to several factors including discrimination and inequalities. 

LGB people are more prone to poor mental health

As per a study, it has been found that LGB youth are four times more likely to kill themselves than their heterosexual counterparts and more than half of individuals who identify as transgender experience depression or anxiety. These findings were published in Psychological Medicine on Wednesday. The authors have highlighted the need for better health professionals and improved awareness among the people to the mental health needs of the sexual minority group. The report also stressed on the need for policies that improve societal understanding and to encourage a tolerant attitude in people towards sexual minorities.

According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, if LGB people are at risk for excess mental distress and disorders due to social stress, it is important to understand this risk, as well as factors that ameliorate stress and contribute to mental health. Only with such understanding can psychologists, public health professionals, and public policymakers work toward designing effective prevention and intervention programs. 

The data collected through various face-to-face interviews and surveys found many cases of bullying experiences, religious identification, discrimination, hazardous alcohol use, child abuse and illicit drug use. According to the research, the prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders among bisexual people was 40%, and for lesbian and gay people it was 28%, which was significantly higher than that for heterosexuals at 16%. Similarly, illicit drug use was highest among bisexual people, at 37%, while for lesbian and gay people it was 25% and heterosexuals, at 10.5%. Alcohol misuse was highest in lesbian and gay people, at 37%, compared with bisexual people at 31%, and heterosexuals, at 24%. 

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'The government should implement better policies'

Lead author, Dr Alexandra Pitman (UCL Psychiatry), in the report has said, "What this study highlight is the significant and ongoing disparity in mental health between LGB people and heterosexual people, as evidenced by higher levels of mental health problems and alcohol and drug misuse. In order to reduce this persistent inequality in society, we must ensure that health and social care professionals are better trained to identify and care for the wellbeing and mental health needs of sexual minority groups, who are often made to feel invisible within national health systems. Furthermore, secondary schools must implement policies and practices that create supportive environments for sexual minority students, including providing (and actively promoting) access to a member of staff who is a designated minorities contact person, who students can talk to in confidence about experiences of discrimination, bullying, or mental health difficulties. Schools in the UK can also learn from positive experiences of Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs in US high schools, where students benefit from access to a hub for socialising, support, and activism."

Monitoring health in sexual minority population

Co-author, Dr Joanna Semlyen (The University of East Anglia) on the mental health of sexual minorities pointed out, "We know that sexual minorities are at increased risk of poor mental health than the heterosexual population. What this paper shows is that those inequalities did not change between the two study collection points of 2007 and 2014. This is really important because it shows that, despite some changes in societal attitudes, people who are lesbian, gay and bisexual continue to experience poor mental health. What we need to do now is not only continue to monitor health in sexual minority populations as standard but also to design studies to understand what causes these inequalities and develop interventions to reduce them." 

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(Inputs from ANI)