Science & Health News Briefs from UPI.com

Gays and lesbians often seek health care

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A study finds about twice as many gay, lesbian and bisexual Californians sought mental health or substance abuse treatment last year than did heterosexuals.

The study was conducted by UCLA scientists and involved data from a survey of more than 2,000 Californians.

The researchers found 48.5 percent of gay lesbian or bisexual individuals said they participated in treatment during the past year, compared with 22.5 percent of heterosexuals. Lesbians and bisexual women were most likely to receive treatment and heterosexual men were the least likely.

"It is well known that health services utilization is greater among women generally," researcher Susan Cochran said. "Here we have shown that minority sexual orientation is also an important consideration. Lesbians and bisexual women appear to be approximately twice as likely as heterosexual women to report having received recent treatment for mental health or substance use disorders."

The researchers speculate the increased use of healthcare might be the result of higher exposure to discrimination, violence and other stressful life events.

"The pervasive and historically rooted societal pathologizing of homosexuality may contribute to this propensity for treatment by construing homosexuality and issues associated with it as mental health problems," she added.

The study appears in the journal BMC Psychiatry.

The following is a reprint of a related UPI article from November of 2008:

Undesirable gay men may have riskier sex

TORONTO, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Gay men who are not considered sexually desirable are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, Canadians researchers have found.

Researchers at the University of Toronto say homosexual men may also develop psychological problems as a consequence of feeling undesirable.

Adam Isaiah Green interviewed dozens of gay men in Toronto to determine what qualities made some men more sexually desirable than others, and what the consequences of being undesirable might be on mental and physical health.

"I found that young, white, middle-class men are considered much more sexually desirable than men who are racial minorities, over 40 and poor," Green said in a statement. "I also learned that for gay men, being considered sexually undesirable can have serious health consequences, ranging from psychological issues to risky sexual behavior."

The study, published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, found that undesirable gay men face stigmatization, avoidance and outright rejection, which can lead to depression, anxiety and alcohol abuse. It also highlighted cases whereby undesirable gay men will forgo safe-sex discussion and, in some cases, condom use, in the context of sex with a more attractive partner.