Differences in Multimorbidity among Cisgender Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Adults: Investigating Differences across Age-Groups.

Objectives

Despite increased risk for chronic disease, there is limited research that has examined disparities in multimorbidity among sexual minority adults and whether these disparities differ by age.

Methods

Data were from the 2014-2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We used sex-stratified multinomial logistic regression to examine differences in multimorbidity between sexual minority and heterosexual cisgender adults and whether hypothesized differences varied across age-groups.

Results

The sample included 687,151 adults. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual adults had higher odds of meeting criteria for multimorbidity than same-sex heterosexual adults. These disparities were greater among sexual minority adults under the age of 50 years. Only other non-heterosexual men over the age of 50 years and lesbian women over the age of 80 years were less likely to have multimorbidity than their same-sex heterosexual counterparts. Discussion: Health promotion interventions to reduce adverse health outcomes among sexual minorities across the life span are needed.