Public health researchers from the University of California, Irvine have determined that lesbian, gay and bisexual cancer survivors experience a lower quality of life compared to their heterosexual counterparts, specifically in the mental and social aspects of their overall health.
Corresponding author Michael Hoyt, PhD, associate professor of population health and disease prevention from UCI’s Program in Public Health, and his collaborators published their findings in the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology.
Pulling data of nearly 1,800 records from the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program database, researchers compared 885 lesbian, gay and bisexual cancer survivor records to 885 heterosexual cancer survivor records with similar physical and sociodemographic characteristics.
“These findings point us to realize that even though a cancer diagnosis or treatment regimen may be the same, the challenges and experiences of sexual minority survivors may place added burden that challenges longer term outcomes,” said Hoyt. “More research is needed to identify the unique needs and strengths of sexual minority patients, as well as the ways that cancer care may not be adequately meeting these healthcare needs.”
More research is needed to identify the unique needs and strengths of sexual minority patients, as well as the ways that cancer care may not be adequately meeting these healthcare needs.”
– Michael Hoyt, PhD
Additional findings from the study showed that bisexual individuals, a patient group known to experience higher levels of social isolation, invisibility and marginalization, reported particularly low levels of mental and social quality of life.
“Our study identifies important social and mental health disparities in lesbian, gay and bisexual cancer survivors, a population that is grossly understudied when it comes to cancer survivorship research,” added Hoyt. “As expected, these results also mirror disparities in racial and ethnic minority cancer survivors.”
The researchers suggest that future studies should explore the possibility that Black or African American sexual minorities disproportionately experience interpersonal stressors and isolation after cancer. Additionally, they hope their findings may serve as a resource to inform practice and policy on how mental health, psychosocial stressors and factors, and health care needs affect survivorship outcomes.
Additional authors include behavioral scientist Katie Darabos with the Rutgers School of Public Health and doctoral student Karen Llave with the UCI Program in Public Health.
This study was supported by the University of California, Irvine Genetic Epidemiology Research Institute and the UCI Office of Data and Information Technology.
