The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the coronavirus pandemic disproportionately affects LGBTQ Americans compared to their heterosexual parents, according to an analysis released Thursday.
Why it’s important: The report is one of the agency’s first public examinations of how the coronavirus affects LGBTQ people and appears amid an information drought as advocates take the reins of data collection.
What they found: Self-reported underlying diseases related to severe coronavirus symptoms are more common in LGBTQ people, as discrimination can increase vulnerabilities to disease and limit access to health services, according to the agency.
- LGBTQ people in the study reported a higher rate of asthma, cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and other conditions than heterosexual people.
- Black and Hispanic LGBTQ people are at an even higher risk, as people of color are more likely to be hospitalized for the virus and die from it.
A deeper level: Advocates say LGBTQ Americans, especially young adults, are at risk of mental health, homelessness, and loss of income due to the pandemic.
The summary: “Gathering data on sexual orientation in COVID-19 surveillance and other studies will improve knowledge about disparities in infection and adverse outcomes by sexual orientation, thus reporting more equitable responses to the pandemic, ”the agency said.
Methodology: The CDC used the 2017-2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to examine disparities in the underlying conditions between sexual minority adults and heterosexual adults. BRFSS is a collection of population health surveys that collect demographic and health information from uninstitutionalized residents of the United States aged ≥18 years.
All conditions are stated. The number of respondents who identified as transgender or non-binary was too small for reliable estimates compared to the predominantly cisgender population.