Skip to main content
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 2001 Jun;91(6):972–975. doi: 10.2105/ajph.91.6.972

Behavioral risk factors for disease and preventive health practices among lesbians.

D J Aaron 1, N Markovic 1, M E Danielson 1, J A Honnold 1, J E Janosky 1, N J Schmidt 1
PMCID: PMC1446477  PMID: 11392943

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the prevalence of health behaviors among lesbians and in the general population of women. METHODS: We used a cross-sectional community-based survey of 1010 self-identified lesbians 18 years or older. RESULTS: Compared with the general population of women, lesbians were more likely to report cigarette use, alcohol use, and heavy alcohol use. A higher percentage of lesbians were categorized as overweight, and lesbians were more likely to participate in vigorous physical activity. They were less likely to report having had a Papanicolaou test within the past 2 years but more likely to report ever having had a mammogram. CONCLUSIONS: While there may be differences in health behaviors between lesbians and the general population of women, how these differences influence the risk of subsequent disease is unknown.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (73.7 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abbott L. J. The use of alcohol by lesbians: a review and research agenda. Subst Use Misuse. 1998 Nov;33(13):2647–2663. doi: 10.3109/10826089809059343. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bloomfield K. A comparison of alcohol consumption between lesbians and heterosexual women in an urban population. Drug Alcohol Depend. 1993 Oct;33(3):257–269. doi: 10.1016/0376-8716(93)90112-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Heffernan K. Eating disorders and weight concern among lesbians. Int J Eat Disord. 1996 Mar;19(2):127–138. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-108X(199603)19:2<127::AID-EAT3>3.0.CO;2-P. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hughes T. L., Wilsnack S. C. Use of alcohol among lesbians: research and clinical implications. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1997 Jan;67(1):20–36. doi: 10.1037/h0080208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Johnson S. R., Smith E. M., Guenther S. M. Comparison of gynecologic health care problems between lesbians and bisexual women. A survey of 2,345 women. J Reprod Med. 1987 Nov;32(11):805–811. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Koh A. S. Use of preventive health behaviors by lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women: questionnaire survey. West J Med. 2000 Jun;172(6):379–384. doi: 10.1136/ewjm.172.6.379. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Krieger N., Sidney S. Prevalence and health implications of anti-gay discrimination: a study of black and white women and men in the CARDIA cohort. Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults. Int J Health Serv. 1997;27(1):157–176. doi: 10.2190/HPB8-5M2N-VK6X-0FWN. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lee C. D., Blair S. N., Jackson A. S. Cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Mar;69(3):373–380. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/69.3.373. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. McGinnis J. M., Foege W. H. Actual causes of death in the United States. JAMA. 1993 Nov 10;270(18):2207–2212. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. McKirnan D. J., Peterson P. L. Alcohol and drug use among homosexual men and women: epidemiology and population characteristics. Addict Behav. 1989;14(5):545–553. doi: 10.1016/0306-4603(89)90075-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Minugh P. A., Rice C., Young L. Gender, health beliefs, health behaviors, and alcohol consumption. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 1998 Aug;24(3):483–497. doi: 10.3109/00952999809016911. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Price J. H., Easton A. N., Telljohann S. K., Wallace P. B. Perceptions of cervical cancer and Pap smear screening behavior by women's sexual orientation. J Community Health. 1996 Apr;21(2):89–105. doi: 10.1007/BF01682301. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Rankow E. J., Tessaro I. Cervical cancer risk and Papanicolaou screening in a sample of lesbian and bisexual women. J Fam Pract. 1998 Aug;47(2):139–143. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Rothblum E. D., Factor R. Lesbians and their sisters as a control group: demographic and mental health factors. Psychol Sci. 2001 Jan;12(1):63–69. doi: 10.1111/1467-9280.00311. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sell R. L., Petrulio C. Sampling homosexuals, bisexuals, gays, and lesbians for public health research: a review of the literature from 1990 to 1992. J Homosex. 1996;30(4):31–47. doi: 10.1300/J082v30n04_02. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Siever M. D. Sexual orientation and gender as factors in socioculturally acquired vulnerability to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1994 Apr;62(2):252–260. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.62.2.252. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Stevens P. E. Lesbian health care research: a review of the literature from 1970 to 1990. Health Care Women Int. 1992 Apr-Jun;13(2):91–120. doi: 10.1080/07399339209515984. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Trippet S. E., Bain J. Reasons American lesbians fail to seek traditional health care. Health Care Women Int. 1992 Apr-Jun;13(2):145–153. doi: 10.1080/07399339209515987. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Verhoef M. J., Love E. J. Women's exercise participation: the relevance of social roles compared to non-role-related determinants. Can J Public Health. 1992 Sep-Oct;83(5):367–370. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Wei M., Kampert J. B., Barlow C. E., Nichaman M. Z., Gibbons L. W., Paffenbarger R. S., Jr, Blair S. N. Relationship between low cardiorespiratory fitness and mortality in normal-weight, overweight, and obese men. JAMA. 1999 Oct 27;282(16):1547–1553. doi: 10.1001/jama.282.16.1547. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES