NBC News reports research findings originally published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study of some 100,000 nurses looked at mortality rates for heterosexual, lesbian, and bisexual (women) nurses. There are, of course, also male RNs, who weren’t included.
Compared to participants who identified as heterosexual, the analysis found, those who identified as lesbian or bisexual died 26% sooner, with lesbian women dying 20% sooner and bisexual women dying 37% sooner.
The study’s authors claim the differences, which are substantial, are due in part to discrimination. They also allude to increased rates of alcohol and tobacco usage among lesbian and bisexual women, neither of which would be without healthwise costs. It is also worth noting that RNs have access to Rx drugs which others lack.
