title: Sexual Minority Women's Health Behaviors and Outcomes After Breast Cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sexual minority women (e.g., lesbians, bisexual women, and women who prefer a female partner) are a known risk population for overweight, obesity, and mental health problems. Our objective is to compare sexual minority women with breast cancer to a control sample of sexual minority women without cancer to identify differences in healthful lifestyle practices, weight, well-being and mental health.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional study of 85 sexual minority women with a breast cancer history (cases) matched by age and partner status to 85 sexual minority controls without cancer. We compared self-reported physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, weight, quality of life, anxiety, and depression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cases and controls had similar health behaviors, BMI, quality of life, anxiety, and depression. Of the weight-related behaviors, meeting the recommended guidelines of physical activity was significantly associated with lower likelihood of being overweight or obese, less depression, and better mental quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sexual minority women with breast cancer are similar to sexual minority women without cancer with respect to healthful behaviors, body weight, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Lifestyle interventions to reduce the risk of poor outcomes after cancer should be implemented in this population as well as in sexual minority women without cancer.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Boehmer
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Medicine Research, Center for Patient Safety and Quality Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.|3 Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Al
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ozonoff
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Potter
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology; D001835:Body Weight; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D016387:Women's Health
keywords: body mass index (BMI); breast cancer; female homosexuality; health behaviors; psychosocial adjustment; quality of life