Women in sexual minorities and gay men have worse sleep quality than people who identify as straight, according to data from a U.S. government survey, reports Medscape.
“This analysis has provided evidence that certain sexual minority groups (i.e., gay men, gay/lesbian women, and bisexual women) report poorer sleep quality than their straight counterparts,” Dr. James M. Dahlhamer and colleagues at the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, write in Sleep Health, online December 4.
“The study calls attention to the need for physicians providing care to people in sexual minority groups who report sleep issues to ask about psychosocial stress and poor social habits, like smoking, that might contribute to sleep disorders in this cohort,” Dr. Alon Avidan, director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center in Los Angeles, California, told Reuters Health by email. He was not involved in the study.
