Heart Health Varies With Race Among Sexual-Minority Females

Black, Hispanic, and White sexual-minority female adults have lower cardiovascular health compared with their heterosexual counterparts

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 1, 2024 (HealthDay News) — For sexual-minority (SM) females, cardiovascular health (CVH) varies across race and ethnicity, according to a study published online May 1 in JAMA Network Open.

Nicole Rosendale, M.D., from the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues used the American Heart Association Life’s Essential 8 measure to examine differences in CVH at the intersection of race, ethnicity, and sexual identity. The cross-sectional study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2016. The primary outcome was overall CVH score, which is the unweighted mean of eight CVH metrics.

The sample included 12,180 adults. The researchers found that Black, Hispanic, and White SM female adults had lower overall CVH scores compared with their heterosexual counterparts in analyses adjusted for age, survey year, and socioeconomic status (β = −3.2, −5.9, -and −3.3, respectively). For female adults of other race and ethnicity and for SM male adults of any race and ethnicity, there were no statistically significant differences seen compared with heterosexual counterparts.

“This study highlights the importance of incorporating intersectionality into CVH health equity studies and interventions,” the authors write. “Tailored interventions to improve the CVH of SM individuals, particularly Black and Hispanic SM female individuals, are needed.”