title: Health Behaviors and Self-Reported Health Among Cancer Survivors by Sexual Orientation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Health behaviors and self-reported health are important for understanding cancer survivor health. However, there is a paucity of published research about how cancer survivors' health behaviors and self-rated health vary by sexual orientation. This study examined cancer survivors' health behaviors and self-reported health by sexual orientation.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2001-2010. Self-reported health and cancer-related health behaviors were compared by sexual orientation. Propensity score adjustment was used to account for differences in age, race, education, gender and health insurance status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 602 survivors eligible for the study, 4.3% identified as sexual minorities. Sexual minorities were 2.6 times more likely to report a history of illicit drug use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=2.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04, 5.35), and 60% less likely to report their current health status as good (aOR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.89), compared to heterosexual cancer survivors. These disparities persisted even after adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that sexual minority cancer survivors may be at greater risk for poorer outcomes after cancer than other survivors. A possible explanation for the observed differences involves minority stress. Future research should test stress as an explanation for these differences. However, using population-methods to achieve this goal requires larger samples of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) cancer survivors.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Public Health, University of Tennessee , Knoxville, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jabson
authors.affiliation: 2 Division of Public Health Sciences Department of Surgery, Washington University , St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Grant W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Farmer
authors.affiliation: 3 University of Washington School of Medicine , Department of Bioethics and Humanities, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Deborah J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Bowen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D057216:Propensity Score; D019529:Sexuality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017741:Survivors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: cancer survivors; disparities; health behaviors; self-rated health; sexual orientation