Skip to main content
PMC home page
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 2001 Jun;91(6):976–979. doi: 10.2105/ajph.91.6.976

Patterns of cigarette smoking and alcohol use among lesbians and bisexual women enrolled in a large health maintenance organization.

E P Gruskin 1, S Hart 1, N Gordon 1, L Ackerson 1
PMCID: PMC1446478  PMID: 11392944

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the prevalence of cigarette smoking and alcohol use among lesbians and bisexual women with that among heterosexual women. METHODS: Logistic regression models were created with data from an extensive member health survey at a large health maintenance organization. Sexual orientation was the primary predictor, and alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking were outcomes. RESULTS: Lesbians and bisexual women younger than 50 years were more likely than heterosexual women to smoke cigarettes and drink heavily. Lesbians and bisexual women aged 20 to 34 reported higher weekly alcohol consumption and less abstinence compared with heterosexual women and older lesbians and bisexual women. CONCLUSIONS: Lesbians and bisexual women aged 20 to 34 years are at risk for alcohol use and cigarette smoking.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (68.8 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. Bradford J., Ryan C., Rothblum E. D. National Lesbian Health Care Survey: implications for mental health care. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1994 Apr;62(2):228–242. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.62.2.228. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cochran S. D., Mays V. M. Relation between psychiatric syndromes and behaviorally defined sexual orientation in a sample of the US population. Am J Epidemiol. 2000 Mar 1;151(5):516–523. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a010238. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Diamant A. L., Wold C., Spritzer K., Gelberg L. Health behaviors, health status, and access to and use of health care: a population-based study of lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women. Arch Fam Med. 2000 Nov-Dec;9(10):1043–1051. doi: 10.1001/archfami.9.10.1043. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Heffernan K. The nature and predictors of substance use among lesbians. Addict Behav. 1998 Jul-Aug;23(4):517–528. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4603(98)00003-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. 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]
  8. 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]
  9. Krieger N. Overcoming the absence of socioeconomic data in medical records: validation and application of a census-based methodology. Am J Public Health. 1992 May;82(5):703–710. doi: 10.2105/ajph.82.5.703. [DOI] [PMC free article] [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. Nawyn S. J., Richman J. A., Rospenda K. M., Hughes T. L. Sexual identity and alcohol-related outcomes: contributions of workplace harassment. J Subst Abuse. 2000;11(3):289–304. doi: 10.1016/s0899-3289(00)00028-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. 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]
  13. Roberts S. J., Sorensen L. Health related behaviors and cancer screening of lesbians: results from the Boston Lesbian Health Project. Women Health. 1999;28(4):1–12. doi: 10.1300/J013v28n04_01. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Skinner W. F., Otis M. D. Drug and alcohol use among lesbian and gay people in a southern U.S. sample: epidemiological, comparative, and methodological findings from the Trilogy Project. J Homosex. 1996;30(3):59–92. doi: 10.1300/J082v30n03_04. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Valanis B. G., Bowen D. J., Bassford T., Whitlock E., Charney P., Carter R. A. Sexual orientation and health: comparisons in the women's health initiative sample. Arch Fam Med. 2000 Sep-Oct;9(9):843–853. doi: 10.1001/archfami.9.9.843. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES