ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2018
Sexual orientation disparities in the co-occurrence of substance use and psychological distress: a national population-based study (2008-2015).
Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 140 citations in OpenAlex.
- LGBQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy for young gay and bisexual men's mental and sexual health: A three-arm randomized controlled trial.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2022Trial
- Alcohol and cannabis use and Co-use among U.S. sexual minority young adults: Findings from the 2019-2021 monitoring the future longitudinal panel data.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Enhancing population-wide administrative data to better understand mortality risk in underserved groups.SSM - population health · 2026Article
- The power of many small sex differences in cognition, personality, and interests.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Mental health in sexual minorities: Change over time in a Finnish population-based sample.Psychological medicine · 2025Article
- Distribution of mental health diagnoses in relation to sexual orientation and gender discontent in a late adolescent community population.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Cannabis use, risk of cannabis use disorder, and anxiety and depression among bisexual patients: A comparative study of sex and sexual identity differences in a large health system.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Article
- Implementing LGBTQ-affirmative CBT: study protocol for an effectiveness-implementation trial at 90 LGBTQ community centers.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Mental Health Treatment Preferences of Sexual Minority Youth and Young Adults: Findings from Three Samples.Psychology of sexual orientation and gender diversity · 2025Article
- Sexual Orientation and Personality Dimensions Measured by the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory among Adolescents.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Mental disorders and sexual orientation in college students across 13 countries of differing levels of LGBTQ+ acceptance.Journal of psychiatric research · 2025Article
- The behavioral health needs of legally involved sexual minority female adolescents.Health & justice · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Differences by Emotion Regulation in the Association Between Discrimination and Tobacco Use Among Sexual Minority Young Adults.Journal of homosexuality · 2024Article
- Syndemic conditions associated with hazardous alcohol consumption among sexual minority men in San Francisco.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2024Article
- Suicidality at the intersection of sex, sexual orientation, and gender expression among secondary school students in Hong Kong: a population-based study.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2024Article
- LGBT-THC: A Systematic Review of Psychosocial Mechanisms Linking Minority Stressors and Cannabis Use among Sexual and Gender Minoritized Individuals.Current addiction reports · 2024Article
- Prevalence, distribution, and inequitable co-occurrence of mental ill-health and substance use among gender and sexuality diverse young people in Australia: epidemiological findings from a population-based cohort study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposeAlthough strong evidence documents the elevated prevalence of both substance use and mental health problems among sexual minorities (i.e., gay, lesbian, and bisexuals), relatively less research has examined whether risk of the co-occurrence of these factors is elevated among sexual minorities compared to heterosexuals. The object of this study was to (1) explore sexual orientation-based differences in substance use, psychological distress, and their co-occurrence in a representative sample in Sweden, and (2) examine if greater exposure to stressors, such as discrimination, victimization/threats, and social isolation, could explain these potential disparities and their co-occurrence.
methodsData come from the cross-sectional Swedish National Public Health Survey, which collected random samples of individuals (16-84 years of age) annually from 2008 to 2015, with an overall response rate of 49.7% (n = 79,568 individuals; 1673 self-identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual). Population-level sexual orientation differences in substance use (i.e., alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis) and psychological distress were examined.
resultsOur findings showed significantly elevated prevalence of high-risk alcohol use, cannabis use, and daily tobacco smoking, among sexual minorities compared to heterosexuals. These substantial disparities in substance use more often co-occurred with psychological distress among sexual minorities than among heterosexuals. The elevated risk of co-occurring psychological distress and substance use was most notable among gay men relative to heterosexual men (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.65, CI 1.98, 3.55), and bisexual women relative to heterosexual women (AOR = 3.01, CI 2.43, 3.72). Multiple mediation analyses showed that experiences of discrimination, victimization, and social isolation partially explained the sexual orientation disparity in these co-occurring problems.
conclusionsThis study adds to a growing body of research showing that sexual minorities experience multiple threats to optimal health and points toward future interventions that address the shared sources of these overlapping health threats in stigma-related stress.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.