Table 5.

Comparison of results

Health indicator	Range from surveys	Previous UK research on lesbian and bisexual women	Similar results from routinely collected data
Smoking	42–55%	N/A	21% (W Midlands women aged 16+) 28% (UK single women aged 16+)
Alcohol	23–37%	N/A	7% (W Midlands women aged 16+) 19% (UK single women aged 16+)
Obesity	16–17%	N/A	16% (W Midlands women aged 16+) 19% (UK single women aged 16+)
Eating disorders	5–16%	N/A	0.5–1% Anorexia Nervosa, 1–3% Bulimia Nervosa (UK male and female)
Mental health problems/depression	31–35%	(RR 1.24)	10.8% mixed anxiety and depression (UK women)
Lifetime suicide rate	20–31%	N/A	14% (UK adults)
Breast self-examination	40–51%	40%	33–45% (UK female population)
Cervical smear attendance	55–61%	55%	82% (W Midlands women aged 25–64)