Differences in substance use between sexual orientations in a multi-country sample: findings from the Global Drug Survey 2015

Demant, Daniel; Hides, Leanne; Kavanagh, David J.; White, Katherine M.; Winstock, Adam; Ferris, Jason

doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdw069

Cited by 53 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Participants in this sample have reported high levels of lifetime and recent poppers use. This is consistent with the current body of evidence demonstrating higher levels of poppers use in sexual minority men; however, most literature reports even higher levels of poppers use in this population .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…While poppers are used by populations of all sexual identities, research has shown that gay and bisexual men are disproportionately more likely to use these. A recent international survey reported that, in comparison to heterosexual men, those identifying as gay or bisexual had adjusted odds ratios of lifetime poppers use of 5.1 and 1.88, respectively. Last month use was also significantly higher with 1.5% among heterosexual men compared to 16.2% and 4.5% among gay and bisexual men, respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Harmless? A hierarchical analysis of poppers use correlates among young gay and bisexual men

Demant

Oviedo-Trespalacios

2019

Drug and Alcohol Review

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Introduction and Aims. Poppers (alkyl nitrites) are recreational substances commonly used during sexual activity. The current legal status of poppers is complex and wide-ranging bans are increasingly under discussion. Research has identified disproportionate levels of poppers use in sexual minority men. While research on poppers use among sexual minority men exists, little is known about poppers use patterns and correlations with psychosocial and other factors among gay and bisexual young men. Design and Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 836 Australian gay and bisexual young men aged 18 to 35 years. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical segmentation analyses were conducted to identify poppers use patterns, and correlates of recent poppers use (past 3 months) with personal characteristics, use of other substances, as well as mental and psychosocial health including minority stress, LGBT-community connectedness and participation. Results. High levels of lifetime (38%, n = 315) and recent (24%, n = 204) poppers use were reported. However, few participants reported dependency symptoms, risky consumption or problems arising from using poppers. The final model included three variables (visiting sex-on-premises venues, licensed LGBT venues, and using other substances) and predicted 85% (n = 174) of recent poppers use. No correlations with other concepts or characteristics could be identified. Conclusion. This analysis further supports the hypothesis that poppers may be substances with a comparably low-risk profile. A regulation of poppers with a harm reduction approach may present a valuable public health intervention. [Demant D, Oviedo-Trespalacios O. Harmless? A hierarchical analysis of poppers use correlates among young gay and bisexual men. Drug Alcohol Rev 2019;38:465-472]Key words: substance use, alkyl nitrites, men who have sex with men, minority health.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harmless? A hierarchical analysis of poppers use correlates among young gay and bisexual men

Demant

Oviedo-Trespalacios

2019

Drug and Alcohol Review

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“…SMs are more likely to have an alcohol use disorder (AUD) and experience greater AUD severity (Allen and Mowbray, 2016; Amadio, 2006; McCabe et al, 2009). Notably, while heterosexual women have significantly lower rates of substance use than heterosexual men, SM women have similar or higher rates of substance use behaviors and disorders compared to SM men (Demant et al, 2017; Kerridge et al, 2017; McCabe et al, 2013; Operario et al, 2015). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…A meta-analysis of 18 school-based surveys reported that US SM youth had nearly three times the odds of any substance use relative to heterosexual youth, smoking rates 2–3 times higher those of heterosexuals and approximately 1.5 times the odds of marijuana use (Marshal et al, 2008). These disparities persist in adulthood: in national surveys in the US and Canada, SM adults report more alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking (HED) than heterosexual adults (Allen and Mowbray, 2016; McCabe et al, 2009; Pakula et al, 2016), and national surveys in the US and Australia have found SM adults to have significantly elevated marijuana use (Demant et al, 2017; McCabe et al, 2009). Similarly, national surveys find SM youth and adults have elevated cigarette smoking rates and higher odds of moderate or heavy smoking, especially women (Cochran et al, 2013; Corliss et al, 2014; Gonzales et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rates of heavy drinking among bisexual adults are nearly double those among heterosexuals as well as significantly higher than among gays/lesbians (Gonzales et al, 2016), and bisexual adults are more likely to have an AUD compared to gay, lesbian, or heterosexual adults (Kerridge et al, 2017; McCabe et al, 2013). National surveys find the highest smoking rates among bisexuals (Cochran et al, 2013; Demant et al, 2017). Furthermore, many studies have found gender effects, with pronounced disparities among bisexual females.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disparities in substance use behaviors and disorders among adult sexual minorities by age, gender, and sexual identity

Schuler

Exten

Evans-Polce

et al. 2018

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

177

121

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Background: Sexual minorities (SMs) experience elevated rates of substance use behaviors and disorders relative to heterosexuals; minority stress is theorized to contribute to these disparities. As SMs are not a homogenous group, analyses that aggregate SMs across sexual identity, age, or gender obscure important variation among this population. To date, age- and gender-specific disparities have not been rigorously examined using a large national sample. Methods: Using data on 67,354 adults (ages 18–49) from the 2015 and 2016 National Survey of Drug Use and Health we examined age- and gender-specific disparities in smoking, heavy episodic drinking, marijuana use, illicit drug use, and alcohol/substance use disorder. Age groups were ages 18–25, 26–34, and 35–49. Using logistic regression, we estimated age- and gender-specific odds ratios for gay/lesbian and bisexual individuals, relative to heterosexuals; analyses adjusted for demographic characteristics. Results: Bisexual women had significantly elevated odds of all outcomes at all ages, relative to heterosexual women. Gay/lesbian individuals had significantly elevated odds for nearly all outcomes compared to same-gender heterosexuals at ages 18–25, but not consistently at older ages. For bisexual men, significant disparities compared to heterosexual men were only observed at ages 35–49 for marijuana use and alcohol/substance use disorder. Conclusions: We find notable within-group differences regarding SM disparities. While disparities were most pronounced in young adulthood for gay/lesbian individuals and mid-adulthood for bisexual men, bisexual women uniquely experienced disparities across all ages. Minority stress experiences may vary with respect to gender, age/cohort, and sexual identity, resulting in differential risk for substance use.

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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning+ (LGBTQ+)

Pezzella

2023

Alcohol Use: Assessment, Withdrawal Management, Treatment and Therapy

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Differences in substance use between sexual orientations in a multi-country sample: findings from the Global Drug Survey 2015

Cited by 53 publications

References 26 publications

Harmless? A hierarchical analysis of poppers use correlates among young gay and bisexual men

Harmless? A hierarchical analysis of poppers use correlates among young gay and bisexual men

Disparities in substance use behaviors and disorders among adult sexual minorities by age, gender, and sexual identity

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning+ (LGBTQ+)

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