LGBTQ+ people are at a higher risk of dementia and depression than their straight peers, a study suggests.
Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine found that the group had a 15 percent higher risk of brain health problems overall in later life.
This included a 14 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with dementia, and a 27 percent higher risk of depression in later life.
The paper blamed a ‘variety of contributions’, from psychosocial factors like stress, to physical damage from violence and gender-affirming hormones and difficulties accessing healthcare.
Studies suggest that stress can trigger neuroinflammation and raise the risk of protein clumps forming in the brain, a precursor to conditions like dementia.
It also mentioned that people in the group were more likely to smoke or abuse substances than their straight peers, which can raise the risk of the conditions.
Depression in late adulthood is also often thought to be a precursor for dementia, with many studies saying it may be a reaction to cognitive deficits.
Dr Shufan Huo, the neurologist who led the study, said: ‘In a world that increasingly recognizes the crucial role of equitable health care, it remains concerning how little is known about the health disparities faced by LGBTQ+ people.
‘Our study looked at this group, which has been historically underrepresented in neurological research, and found that they had an increased risk of adverse brain health outcomes.’
The researchers said their study did not prove that sexuality or gender differences caused the issues, but that it had detected an association that was likely caused by other factors.
It is just the latest paper to reveal the disparity that LGBTQ+ people face, after another study found lesbian women die 20 percent earlier than their peers.
Researchers have previously blamed alcohol abuse for the disparity, estimating about 25 percent of LGBTQ+ people have an alcohol problem compared to five to ten percent in the general population.
They have also highlighted obesity rates, with studies showing that lesbian women are 41 percent more likely to be obese than their straight peers. Studies suggest gay and bisexual men are less likely to be obese than their straight peers.
Researchers suggest that alcohol abuse can cause brain cells to die and the organ to shrink, raising the risk of neurological conditions.
Obesity can raise the risk of damage to blood vessels, including those in the brain, which may raise the risk of suffering from dementia.
It can also over-activate the immune system, according to the UK-based Alzheimer’s Society, leading to brain damage.
In the new study, published in Neurology, researchers analyzed data from 393,000 people in the All of Us dataset, a US-based dataset of health records.
Adults were about 51 years old on average and had enrolled over five years from May 2017 to June 2022.
Of these, 39,000 were LGBTQ+ — with 15,700 being bisexual (mostly women), 9,300 being gay, 5,000 being lesbians and 4,000 in a gender minority group.
There were also 8,400 people who said they had a different category. Some people were included in more than one category.
In the group, 21,000 people were diagnosed with a neurological condition.
This included 11,500 people who had late-life depression, 6,600 people with strokes, and 2,933 cases of dementia.
After adjusting for factors including age, sex assigned at birth, ethnicity and heart disease, they found that LGBT people had a higher risk of these complications.
They also found that trans people had a 68 percent higher risk for stroke compared to those who were straight and cisgender.
Limitations of the study included that it did not examine the causes behind the inequalities faced by LGBTQ+ people.
It also did not examine in detail the role of gender-affirming hormone therapy in raising the risks of these conditions.
Dr Huo added: ‘Our findings underscore the need for further research focusing on the health care disparities affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
‘Possible reasons for these disparities could include discrimination, stress, access to health care and policy and legal factors.’
