The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the coronavirus pandemic is disproportionately affecting LGBTQ Americans compared to their heterosexual peers, according to an analysis released Thursday.
Why it matters: The report is one of the agency’s first public investigations into the effects of the coronavirus on LGBTQ people, and comes amid an information drought with lawyers taking the reins of data collection.
What they found: Self-reported underlying health problems related to severe coronavirus symptoms are more common in LGBTQ people, as discrimination can increase vulnerability to disease and limit access to health services, the agency said.
- LGBTQ people in the study reported a higher rate of asthma, cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and other conditions than straight men.
- Black and Hispanic LGBTQ people are at an even higher risk, as people of color are more likely to be hospitalized by the virus and die from it.
One level deeper: Proponents say that LGBTQ Americans, especially young adults, are facing an increased risk of poor mental health, homelessness, and lost income as a result of the pandemic.
It comes down to: “Collecting data on sexual orientation in COVID-19 surveillance and other studies would improve knowledge about inequalities in infection and adverse consequences from sexual orientation, informing more equitable responses to the pandemic, ”the agency said.
Methodology: the CDC used the 2017–2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to investigate the differences in underlying conditions between sexual minorities and heterosexual adults. BRFSS is a collection of population health surveys that collect demographic and health information from non-institutionalized US residents aged ≥18 years.
All conditions are self-reported. The number of respondents who identified as transgender or non-binary was too small for reliable estimates compared to the majority of the cisgender population.