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Background: Research shows that sexual minorities (e.g., lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals) experience higher levels of discrimination, stigma, and stress and are at higher risk of some poor health outcomes and health behaviors compared to their heterosexual counterparts. However, the majority of studies have examined sexual orientation disparities in a narrow range of health outcomes and behaviors using convenience samples comprised of either men or women living in restricted geographic areas.Methods: To investigate the relationship between sexual orientation identity and health among U.S. women and men, we used Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate prevalence ratios for health behaviors, outcomes, and services use comparing sexual minorities to heterosexual individuals using 2013 and 2014 National Health Interview Survey data (N = 69,270).Results: Three percent of the sample identified as sexual minorities. Compared to heterosexual women, lesbian (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.65 [95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.14, 2.37]) and bisexual (PR = 2.16 [1.46, 3.18]) women were more likely to report heavy drinking. Lesbians had a higher prevalence of obesity (PR = 1.20 [1.02, 1.42]), stroke (PR = 1.96 [1.14, 3.39]), and functional limitation (PR = 1.17 [1.02, 1.34] than heterosexual women. Gay men were more likely to have hypertension (PR = 1.21 [1.03, 1.43]) and heart disease (PR = 1.39 [1.02, 1.88]). Despite no difference in health insurance status, sexual minorities were more likely than heterosexual individuals to delay seeking healthcare because of cost; however, members of this group were also  more likely to have received an HIV test and initiated HPV vaccination.Conclusion: Sexual minorities had a higher prevalence of some poor health behaviors and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare sexual orientation group differences in the longitudinal development of alcohol use behaviors during adolescence. Design: Community-based prospective cohort study. Setting: Self-reported questionnaires. Participants: A total of 13 450 Growing Up Today Study participants (79.7% of the original cohort) aged 9 to 14 years at baseline in 1996 were followed up for more than 7 years. Main Exposure: Self-reported sexual orientation classified as heterosexual, mostly heterosexual, bisexual, or gay/lesbian. Main Outcome Measures: Age at alcohol use initiation, any past-month drinking, number of alcoholic drinks usually consumed, and number of binge drinking episodes in the past year. Results: Compared with heterosexual participants, youth reporting any minority sexual orientation reported having initiated alcohol use at younger ages. Greater risk of alcohol use was consistently observed for mostly heterosexual males and females and for bisexual females, whereas gay and bisexual males and lesbians reported elevated levels of alcohol use on only some indicators. Gender was an important modifier of alcohol use risk; mostly heterosexual and bisexual females exhibited the highest relative risk. Younger age at alcohol use initiation among participants with minority sexual orientations significantly contributed to their elevated risk of binge drinking. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that disparities in alcohol use among youth with a minority sexual orientation emerge in early adolescence and persist into young adulthood. Health care providers should be aware that adolescents with a minority sexual orientation are at greater risk of alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine associations between sexual orientation and breast cancer risk factors, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, mental health status, and health-related functioning. Methods: We compared participants in the Nurses' Health Study II (NHSII) reporting a lesbian or bisexual orientation with those reporting a heterosexual orientation, with heterosexuals serving as the reference group for all comparisons. Prevalence of health behaviors and conditions was adjusted for differences in the distribution of age, ancestry, and region of residence by standardizing to the distribution of the overall cohort. Multivariate prevalence ratios were calculated to compare lesbians and bisexuals with heterosexuals using binomial regression with the log link function. Means of health conditions were measured using continuous scales standardized to the distribution of the overall cohort. Differences in means comparing lesbians and bisexuals with heterosexuals were tested by multivariate linear regression. All comparisons were adjusted for age, ancestry, and region of residence. Results: Based on information from 90,823 women aged 32-51 in 1995, those reporting a sexual orientation of lesbian (n = 694) had a higher prevalence of risk factors for breast cancer, including nulliparity and high daily alcohol intake, compared with heterosexual women. Lesbians also had a higher prevalence of several risk factors for CVD, including higher body mass index (BMI) and elevated prevalence of current smoking. Lesbians were more likely to report depression and the use of antidepressants. Key results for health risk factors were similar for lesbians and bisexual women (n = 317). Conclusions: Lesbian and bisexual women were found to have a higher prevalence of several important risk factors for breast cancer, CVD, and poor mental health and functioning outcomes. Most of these risk factors are modifiable, and appropriate interventions could play an important role in improving the health status of lesbian and bisexual women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on environmental influences in middle schools. This study aims to identify factors in school physical and social environments that may facilitate or compete with programs and policies to improve student physical activity and nutrition. With this, focus groups and interviews were conducted with students, faculty and staff of two public middle schools. The quality of the food served, easy access to innutritious snacks, limited time for lunch period and weight concerns emerged are identified as significant reasons why students do not eat nutritious meals in school.

Explores the bifurcated roots of nutritional public health. Public health approach to nutrition and diet; History of food, dieting, and scientific nutrition; Analysis of public health discourse on scientific publications generated from the Nurses' Health Study, based at the Harvard School of Public Health, and on the "Nutrition Action Healthletter" from the Center for Science in the Public Interest in the U.S.