Lesbian/gay people more likely to report past-year suicidal thoughts; lifetime nonsuicidal self-harm increased for lesbian, gay, bisexual groups
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, June 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Specific lesbian, gay, and bisexual groups have an increased risk for certain suicide-related outcomes, according to a study published online June 9 in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.
Garrett Kidd, from University College of London, and colleagues analyzed data combined from two population-based representative household surveys of 10,443 English adults sampled in 2007 and 2014. In multivariable logistic regression models, the association between sexuality and three suicide-related outcomes was examined: past-year suicidal thoughts, past-year suicide attempt, and lifetime nonsuicidal self-harm (NSSH). Bullying and discrimination were added to the final models separately to examine whether the associations are mediated by these variables.
The researchers found that compared with heterosexuals, lesbian/gay people were more likely to report past-year suicidal thoughts (adjusted odds ratio, 2.20). An increased probability of suicide attempt was not seen for any of the minority groups. The likelihood of reporting lifetime NSSH was increased for bisexual and lesbian/gay individuals versus heterosexuals (adjusted odds ratios, 3.02 and 3.19, respectively). Some evidence supported a contribution of bullying in the association between lesbian/gay identity and past-year suicidal thoughts and for each of the minority stress variables in the associations with NSSH. No interaction was seen with gender or survey year.
“While national surveys of British attitudes towards same-sex relationships suggest that society has become more tolerant of people who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual, there is clearly a long way to go, as the mental health outcomes we were studying did not improve across our study period,” a coauthor said in a statement.
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