Adverse Brain Health Outcomes Increased for Sexual, Gender Minority Groups

Increased risk seen for a composite of stroke, dementia, late-life depression, which persisted for sexual, gender minorities separately

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Sept. 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Sexual and gender-minority (SGM) persons have increased odds of adverse brain health outcomes, according to a study published online Sept. 25 in Neurology.

Shufan Huo, M.D., Ph.D., from the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study in the All of Us Research Program to examine whether SGM persons have a higher risk for adverse brain health outcomes compared to cisgender straight (non-SGM) individuals. The primary outcome, assessed using electronic health record data and self-report, was a composite of stroke, dementia, and late-life depression.

The analyses included 393,041 U.S. adults with available information on sexual orientation and gender identity, 39,632 (10 percent) of whom belonged to SGM groups. Of these, 97 and 11 percent belonged to a sexual minority and gender minority, respectively. The researchers found that SGM individuals had increased odds of the brain health composite outcome compared with non-SGM persons (odds ratio, 1.15). These results persisted across sexual and gender minorities separately. Assessing individual diseases, all SGM groups had increased odds of dementia and late-life depression (odds ratio, 1.14 and 1.27, respectively), while transgender women had higher odds of stroke (odds ratio, 1.68).

“Our results highlight the importance of continued investigation into these disparities to ultimately inform future policy decisions toward more inclusive and equitable neurologic health care,” the authors write.