Summary: Authors examined the
health disparities of older adults (age 50 and older) in California at the
intersection of sexual identity and Latinx ethnicity, by comparing the
prevalence of health outcomes of four groups: LGB (lesbian, gay, and bisexual)
Latinx, straight Latinx, LGB non-Latinx, and straight non-Latinx older adults.
Data were from the 2015-2016 California Health Interview Survey.
Authors compared LGB and straight people within the same ethnic groups and
Latinx and non-Latinx people within the same sexual identity groups to
understand the intersectional effect of Latinx ethnicity and LGB identity.
Findings: Tests by sexual identity showed that among Latinx older adults,
more LGB than non-LGB people experienced serious psychological distress. Among
non-Latinx older adults, there were no health disparities due to sexual
identity. Tests by Latinx ethnicity showed that among LGB older adults, more
Latinx than non-Latinx people were obese. Among straight people, more Latinx
than non-Latinx older people had poor health, diabetes, and obesity.
The compounded effect of Latinx and LGB identity on
psychological distress is notable. However, most health disparities were among
straight older adults, between Latinx and non-Latinx people, indicating that
Latinx, not sexual identity, nor their intersection, was most influential.
Given the importance of sociodemographic factors on health outcomes, programs
targeting LGB older adults should take a comprehensive approach to understand
their experiences as ethnic minorities.