Health Disparities of Older Adults in California: The Role of Sexual Identity and Latinx Ethnicity

Abstract

Background and Objectives We examined the health disparities of older adults (age 50 and older) in California at the intersection of sexual identity and Latinx ethnicity, by comparing the prevalence of health outcomes of four groups: LGB (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) Latinx, straight Latinx, LGB non-Latinx, and straight non-Latinx older adults. Research Design and Methods Data were from the 2015-2016 California Health Interview Survey. Multivariate logistic regressions tested differences among the four groups and the effect of covariates on prevalence of mental and physical health outcomes. We compared LGB and straight people within the same ethnic groups and Latinx and non-Latinx people within the same sexual identity groups to understand the intersectional effect of Latinx ethnicity and LGB identity. Results Tests by sexual identity showed that among Latinx older adults, more LGB than non-LGB people experienced serious psychological distress. Among non-Latinx older adults, there were no health disparities due to sexual identity. Tests by Latinx ethnicity showed that among LGB older adults, more Latinx than non-Latinx people were obese. Among straight people, more Latinx than non-Latinx older people had poor health, diabetes, and obesity. Discussion and Implications The compounded effect of Latinx and LGB identity on psychological distress is notable. However, most health disparities were among straight older adults, between Latinx and non-Latinx people, indicating that Latinx, not sexual identity, nor their intersection, was most influential. Given the importance of sociodemographic factors on health outcomes, programs targeting LGB older adults should take a comprehensive approach to understand their experiences as ethnic minorities.

Intersectionality and cancer survivorship: Sexual orientation and racial/ethnic differences in physical and mental health outcomes among female and male cancer survivors

“…The adjusted odds of mental health were still substantially greater for Black sexual minority men and women in comparison with their heterosexual peers. This is consistent with recent intersectional studies of the general population showing that Hispanic and Black sexual minorities have worse psychological health in comparison with their heterosexual peers of the same race/ethnicity 23,24 …”

The Extent, Range, and Nature of Quantitative Nutrition Research Engaging with Intersectional Inequalities: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…The PRISMA flowchart shows our study selection process ( Figure 1 ). Of the 15,317 results retrieved from our search strategy, 55 articles were included in our review [ [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] , [49] , [50] , [51] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] , [58] , [59] , [60] , [61] , [62] , [63] , [64] , [65] , [66] , [67] , [68] , [69] , [70] , [71] , [72] , [73] , [74] , [75] , [76] , [77] , [78] , [79] , [80] , [81] , [82] , [83] , [84] , [85] , [86] , [87] , [88] , [89] , [90] ]. Supplemental Table 1 provides an overview of study characteristics.…”

“…The next most common was gender ( n = 33; 60%), and the least common was indigeneity (studied only in Guatemala [ 86 ]) and religion (studied only in India [ 70 ]). Other social characteristics studied exclusively in certain countries included sexual orientation (United States) [ 45 , [47] , [48] , [49] , [50] , 59 , 75 ] and caste group (India) [ 37 , 49 , 62 , 66 , [70] , [71] , [72] ] ( Supplemental Table 1 ).…”