Table 2.
Characteristics of the target population, by sexual identity.
| Sexual identity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight | Gay/Lesbian | Bisexual | “Something else” | |
| Age – mean (standard deviation) | 40.9 (13.5) | 39.6 (13.2) | 31.9 (12.2) | 34.7 (14.2) |
| Female | 50.8 | 45.8 | 71.7 | 56.8 |
| Race/ethic identity | ||||
| White | 61.7 | 63.1 | 66.3 | 56.0 |
| Black | 12.1 | 12.8 | 10.7 | 15.5 |
| Hispanic | 17.6 | 16.9 | 15.4 | 16.7 |
| Asian | 6.1 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.3 |
| Multiracial | 1.6 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 6.1 |
| DK | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| Region of residence | ||||
| Northeast | 17.2 | 18.0 | 15.9 | 19.2 |
| North Central/Midwest | 22.5 | 18.7 | 23.7 | 20.3 |
| South | 36.6 | 36.3 | 32.4 | 30.3 |
| West | 23.7 | 27.0 | 28.0 | 30.2 |
| Immigrant status | ||||
| US-born | 80.1 | 89.0 | 89.0 | 85.7 |
| In US 15+ years | 12.3 | 7.1 | 5.5 | 8.5 |
| In US 0–14 years | 7.3 | 3.8 | 5.5 | 5.1 |
| DK | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Language of interview | ||||
| English | 93.2 | 97.2 | 96.7 | 95.7 |
| Other | 6.8 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
| Marital Status | ||||
| Married | 53.7 | 23.1 | 21.0 | 18.2 |
| Previously married | 15.1 | 9.8 | 15.1 | 14.2 |
| Never married | 31.0 | 66.8 | 63.4 | 67.5 |
| DK | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| Children at home | ||||
| No children | 54.5 | 86.5 | 73.6 | 82.3 |
| One child | 18.5 | 7.3 | 14.3 | 7.2 |
| Two or more | 27.1 | 6.2 | 12.1 | 10.6 |
| Educational attainment | ||||
| Less than high school | 14.2 | 8.8 | 15.4 | 15.5 |
| High school | 21.1 | 15.7 | 19.5 | 18.2 |
| Some college | 20.1 | 21.3 | 27.5 | 27.3 |
| Associate degree | 11.8 | 11.4 | 9.4 | 12.4 |
| Bachelor’s degree | 21.2 | 25.5 | 18.6 | 19.8 |
| Master’s degree or higher | 11.3 | 17.0 | 9.5 | 6.9 |
| DK | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Household income | ||||
| $0–34,999 | 24.8 | 29.7 | 42.4 | 42.0 |
| $35,000–74,999 | 27.3 | 26.6 | 25.4 | 29.3 |
| $75,000–99,999 | 12.3 | 11.6 | 8.8 | 8.1 |
| $100,000+ | 28.1 | 27.4 | 18.5 | 11.9 |
| DK | 7.5 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 8.7 |
| Home ownership | ||||
| Owns | 62.5 | 52.4 | 38.8 | 41.2 |
| Rents | 35.2 | 45.2 | 56.3 | 53.8 |
| Other | 2.3 | 2.4 | 4.9 | 5.0 |
| Employment status | ||||
| Employed | 73.2 | 75.1 | 67.0 | 64.1 |
| Not employed | 26.7 | 24.9 | 33.0 | 35.9 |
| DK | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Smoking status | ||||
| Never | 65.0 | 55.9 | 59.0 | 60.6 |
| Former | 18.0 | 21.2 | 18.1 | 15.0 |
| Current | 16.9 | 22.7 | 22.9 | 24.4 |
| DK | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| BMI | ||||
| <18.5 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.2 |
| 18.5–24.9 | 33.0 | 35.7 | 34.8 | 41.5 |
| 25–29.9 | 33.0 | 29.6 | 25.1 | 27.0 |
| 30–34.9 | 17.5 | 16.6 | 17.0 | 14.8 |
| 35–39.9 | 7.3 | 7.9 | 9.3 | 5.2 |
| >=40 | 4.9 | 6.5 | 9.8 | 7.3 |
| DK | 2.6 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
| Alcohol use | ||||
| Never | 18.9 | 10.6 | 16.7 | 18.7 |
| Former | 11.2 | 9.7 | 6.1 | 12.4 |
| Moderate | 39.9 | 40.6 | 31.9 | 33.9 |
| Excessive | 29.2 | 38.4 | 45.2 | 34.6 |
| DK | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Physical activity | ||||
| Adequate activity | 51.4 | 54.1 | 53.9 | 52.6 |
| Low, inadequate activity | 45.4 | 42.7 | 43.6 | 44.0 |
| DK | 3.2 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.3 |
| Sleep duration | ||||
| Normal (7–8 hrs) | 59.9 | 58.9 | 51.0 | 46.2 |
| Short (<7 hrs) | 33.4 | 33.7 | 38.8 | 42.4 |
| Long (>8 hrs) | 6.2 | 6.7 | 9.9 | 10.9 |
| DK | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Satisfaction with health care, past 12 months | ||||
| Very satisfied | 56.8 | 58.6 | 50.7 | 42.8 |
| Somewhat satisfied | 24.6 | 25.1 | 28.9 | 27.4 |
| Very/somewhat dissatisfied | 5.3 | 5.5 | 8.0 | 8.4 |
| Had no care in prior 12 months | 13.2 | 10.8 | 12.1 | 21.1 |
| DK | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Where usually gets care when sick | ||||
| Doctor’s office | 59.2 | 61.1 | 46.9 | 43.2 |
| Clinic/health center | 20.6 | 18.3 | 24.7 | 26.3 |
| Hospital | 2.2 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 2.7 |
| Other/has no usual place | 17.9 | 17.5 | 24.2 | 27.8 |
| DK | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Psychological distress | ||||
| Low | 78.3 | 68.7 | 51.1 | 42.3 |
| Moderate | 17.6 | 24.6 | 36.5 | 42.8 |
| Severe | 3.5 | 6.2 | 12.2 | 14.1 |
| DK | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
DK=don’t know, refused, or was not ascertained.
NHIS 2013–2018, US adults age 18–64. N=134,347 includes all adults who have at least one non-missing pain outcome.
The numbers are percent of total within each group for all variables except for age where means and standard deviations are shown.
“Something else” was the actual verbatim terminology used on the NHIS survey; it captures other non-heterosexual identified adults. More information about the design of the sexual identity question is available elsewhere [52].
All variables differ significantly across the four groups (p<.001) except low physical activity, which is statistically comparable across the groups.