Sexual orientation, disclosure, and cardiovascular stress reactivity.

Sexual orientation, disclosure, and cardiovascular stress reactivity. Stress. 2019 Mar 05;:1-11 Authors: Juster RP, Doyle DM, Hatzenbuehler ML, Everett BG, DuBois LZ, McGrath JJ Abstract Stigma may strain the heart health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. To date, however, LGB-related differences in cardiovascular diagnosis, risk factors, and basal biomarkers are inconsistently reported. Using a laboratory-based stress paradigm, the current study assessed whether cardiovascular stress reactivity differs as a function of sexual orientation and disclosure status ("coming out") in a sample of healthy young LGB and heterosexual adults. Eighty-seven participants aged 18-45 (M = 24.61 ± 0.61 SE) identifying as LGB and heterosexual (47%) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test, a well-validated laboratory stressor involving public speaking and mental arithmetic. Throughout a two-hour session, ambulatory recordings for heart rate and blood pressure were collected. Self-report questionnaires were also administered to assess psychosocial and demographic variables. Gay/bisexual men showed higher heart rate and lesbian/bisexual women showed marginally higher mean arterial blood pressure in response to a stressor, compared to sex- and age-matched heterosexuals. No significant differences emerged when comparing LGB individuals who had completely disclosed and those that had not completely disclosed their sexual orienta...
Source: Stress - Category: Research Tags: Stress Source Type: research