Sexual Orientation Disparities in Risk Factors for Adverse COVID-19-Related Outcomes, by Race/Ethnicity - Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2017-2019

Abstract

Sexual minority persons experience health disparities associated with sexual stigma and discrimination and have a high prevalence of several health conditions that have been associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (1,2). Current COVID-19 surveillance systems do not capture information about sexual orientation. To begin bridging the gap in knowledge about COVID-19 risk among sexual minority adults, CDC examined disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual adults in the prevalence of underlying conditions with strong or mixed evidence of associations with severe COVID-19-related illness (3), by using data from the 2017-2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).* When age, sex, and survey year are adjusted, sexual minority persons have higher prevalences than do heterosexual persons of self-reported cancer, kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease (including myocardial infarction, angina, or coronary heart disease), obesity, smoking, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, and stroke. Sexual minority adults who are members of racial/ethnic minority groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic also have higher prevalences of several of these health conditions than do racial/ethnic minority adults who are heterosexual. Collecting data on sexual orientation in COVID-19 surveillance and other studies would improve knowledge about disparities in infection and adverse outcomes by sexual orientation, thereby informing more equitable responses to the pandemic.

Conflict of interest statement

All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.