Sexual orientation identity in relation to unhealthy body mass index:Individual participant data meta-analysis of 93 429 individuals from 12 UK health surveys

Semlyen, Joanna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5372-1344, Curtis, Tyrone and Varney, Justin (2020) Sexual orientation identity in relation to unhealthy body mass index:Individual participant data meta-analysis of 93 429 individuals from 12 UK health surveys. Journal of Public Health, 42 (1). 98–106. ISSN 1741-3842

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Abstract

Background: Lesbian, gay and bisexual adults are more likely than heterosexual adults to experience worse health outcomes. Despite increasing public health interest in the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight, no study has considered sexual orientation identity (SOI) and unhealthy BMI categories among adults in the UK population. Methods: Individual participant data meta-analysis using pooled data from population health surveys reporting on 93 429 adults with data on SOI, BMI and study covariates. Results: Adjusting for covariates and allowing for between-study variation, women identifying as lesbian (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.16, 1.72) or bisexual (OR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.48) were at increased risk of overweight/obesity compared to heterosexual women, but men identifying as gay were at decreased risk (OR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.85) compared to heterosexual men. Increased risk of being underweight was seen for women identifying as ‘other’ (OR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.07, 3.56), and men identifying as gay (OR = 3.12, 95% CI: 1.83, 5.38), bisexual (OR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.17, 4.52), ‘other’ (OR = 3.95, 95% CI: 1.85, 8.42). Conclusions: The emerging picture of health disparities in this population, along with well documented discrimination, indicate that sexual orientation should be considered as a social determinant of health.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Early title: Sexual orientation identity in relation to unhealthy Body Mass Index (BMI): Individual Participant Meta-Analysis of 93,429 individuals from 12 UK health surveys
Uncontrolled Keywords: body mass index,obesity,sexual orientation,social determinants,underweight,sexual orientation,public health, environmental and occupational health,sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2739
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023)
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 11 Dec 2018 14:30
Last Modified: 19 Oct 2023 02:12
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/69275
DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdy224

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