Sexual orientation and all-cause mortality: A population-based prospective cohort study in southern Sweden

Martin Lindström; Maria Rosvall

doi:10.1016/j.puhip.2020.100032

Sexual orientation and all-cause mortality: A population-based prospective cohort study in southern Sweden

Public Health Pract (Oxf). 2020 Jul 12:1:100032. doi: 10.1016/j.puhip.2020.100032. eCollection 2020 Nov.

Authors

Martin Lindström¹, Maria Rosvall^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Social Medicine and Health Policy, Department of Clinical Sciences, Malmö University Hospital, Lund University, S-205 02, Malmö, Sweden.
² Department of Community Medicine and Public Health, Sahlgrenska Academy, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate associations between sexual orientation and all-cause mortality.

Study design: Prospective cohort study.

Methods: The 2008 public health survey in Scania was conducted with a postal questionnaire later linked to 9.3-year prospective death register data, including 25,071 respondents, aged 18-80. Analyses were conducted with sex-stratified survival analyses.

Results: In the models including age, birth country and socioeconomic status, bisexual men had a hazard rate ratio (HRR) 1.91 (1.10-3.30) compared to heterosexual men, and bisexual women had a HRR 3.18 (1.64-6.18). No significant differences were observed for homosexuals. Other women had a HRR 2.32 (1.47-3.67).

Conclusions: Bisexuals men and women had higher mortality than heterosexuals.

Keywords: Bisexual; Homosexual; LGBT; Mortality; Sexual orientation; Sweden.