NBHC Population Health
July 22, 2018
The first dementia prevalence data from a large population of lesbian, gay and bisexual older adults was reported by researchers from University of California and Kaiser Permanente. They examined the prevalence of dementia among sexual minority adults age 60 year and over. While the LGBT community faces similar health concerns as the general public, the LGBT population were found to face unique challenges, such as:
- Even with recent advances in LGBT rights, LGBT older adults are often marginalized and face discrimination;
- They are twice as likely to age without a spouse or partner, twice as likely to live alone and three to four times less likely to have children, thus greatly limiting their opportunities for support; and
- There's also a lack of transparency, with 40% of LGBT older people in their 60s and 70s saying their healthcare providers don't know their sexual orientation.