Primary Submission Category: LGBTQ+
Examining the Health of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Latinx Adult in the United States
Authors: Stephanie Hernandez Gabe Miller Guadalupe Marquez-Velarde
Presenting Author: Stephanie Hernandez*
Objective: The Hispanic or Latino paradox refers to the consistent findings in the literature of similar or sometimes better health and lower mortality of Latinos compared to non-Latino Whites, despite Latinos having lower socioeconomic status. However, there is large heterogeneity among Latinos, and analyses that account for within group differences find complex or negative relationships between Hispanic or Latinx ethnicity and health. In this study, we disaggregated Latinx adults by sexual orientation. Our objective was to assess whether there was evidence of the paradox among lesbian, gay, and bisexual Latinx adults.
Methods: Data for the analyses came from the 2013-2018 pooled waves of the National Health Interview Survey. The analytic sample was limited to non-Latinx White and Latinx respondents of any race. Analyses were then stratified based on gender and sexual orientation. Five subgroups included straight women (n=68,448), straight men (n=58,768), gay men (n=1,354), lesbian women (n=1,001), and bisexual men and women (n=1,215). Health measures included self-rated health, various health behaviors (e.g., smoking, drinking), chronic conditions (i.e., hypertension, diabetes), and psychological distress. Covariates included age, marital status, educational attainment, employment status, health insurance coverage, home ownership, poverty, region, language of interview, years living in the US, activity limitations, doctor visit in the past 12 months, and survey year. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were used to describe the sample and test for associations.
Results: Preliminary results suggests there was little evidence for the paradox. Latinx straight men and women generally had poorer health compared to their White straight counterparts. Similarly, Latinx gay men, lesbian women, and bisexual men and women had poorer health compared to their White counterparts, although many of these estimates were not statistically significant.