Sexual Identity, Adverse Life Experiences, and Cardiovascular Health in Women

Background: Adverse life experiences (ALE; eg, discrimination and sexual abuse) may contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in sexual minority women (SMW), but few studies have tested whether ALE explain the association of sexual identity with cardiovascular health (CVH) markers in women. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine sexual identity differences in CVH among women and the role of ALE. Methods: In the Epidemiologic Study of Risk in Women, we used multinomial logistic regression to assess sexual identity differences (SMW vs heterosexual women [reference group]) in CVH markers (ideal vs poor, intermediate vs poor) using the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 metric and the total score. Next, we tested whether the association of sexual identity with the total CVH score was attenuated by traditional CVD risk factors or ALE. Results: The sample consisted of 867 women (395 heterosexual, 472 SMW). Sexual minority women were more likely to have experienced discrimination (P
Source: Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing - Category: Nursing Tags: ARTICLES: Cardiovascular Fitness Source Type: research