United States: What the report shows is bisexual and transgender adults are more likely to experience loneliness in their lifetimes than straight and cisgender adults, according to CDC Thursday.
More about the report
Scientists have also utilized self-reported data obtained from the 2022 BRFSS, a health survey that identifies various health risk behaviors, preventive measures, and access to care for loneliness as well as the absence of social-emotional support and various aspects of mental health in order to determine the relations between them.
The respondents who identified as bisexual currently had the highest loneliness score of 56.7 percent or transgender, which was a number slightly lower than 56.4 percent, and 63.9 percent of them identified themselves as either Transgender male or transgender female or transgender non-conforming.
Meanwhile, high shares of loneliness were equally reported in participants who identified as gay or lesbian, at 41.2 percent and 44.8 percent, respectively, as ABC News reported.
In contrast, straight and cisgender people have posted a comparatively lower percentage of 30.3 percent, and 32.1 percent of the individual, bisexual, and transgender people are almost twice as likely to feel lonely, according to the report.
What more have the experts stated?
According to Dr. Adjoa Smalls-Mantey, a New York-based psychiatrist, “We know that people that are part of the LGBTQ+ community often face isolation, but this study is important in that it highlighted the degree that they are isolated compared to people not part of that community,” as ABC News reported.
She added, “They [often] don’t feel comfortable coming out to people that are closest to them and they may hide away, not share that part of themselves, not engaged with people that they used to. So sometimes it can be self-imposed.”
Loneliness leads to poor health – Experts
Studies in the past have pointed out the understanding that loneliness and isolation cause adverse health effects, and people who are lonely are at a higher risk of stroke and heart problems.
Further, social isolation increases the probability of early mortality from factors like obesity and smoking, among others, due to lack of physical activity.
Some of the limitations may have been flattering results; the study was conducted with data from 26 states only, meaning results cannot be generalized to the whole US adult population.
But, according to the authors of this study, treatment for mental health in the LGBTQ+ community should also consist of services that address the issue of loneliness. Health quality increases with the provision of social and emotional care.
According to the authors, “Providing access to health services that are affirming for sexual and gender minority groups and collecting data to address health inequities might help improve the delivery of culturally competent care,” as ABC News reported.
Dr. Judith Joseph, who is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist and clinical assistant professor at NYU Health, stated that she encouraged LGBTQ+ individuals to connect with people outside the home if they feel they are not receiving the kind of response they need.
She said, “So that could be the person at the store if you go to buy something, rather than just saying. ‘Oh, thank you and have a great day,’ ask that store clerk, ‘So, how’s your day going?'” as ABC News reported.
“You can start a conversation with the barista at the coffee shop. These small interactions really help a lot of my clients who have cut off people because they were not accepted by their parents,” she continued.