Gay and Bisexual People at Greater Risk for Dementia, Study Finds

Metro Weekly reports that a Michigan State University (MSU) study published in The Gerontologist determined that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people are more vulnerable to dementia than heterosexuals. Investigators considered 3,500 LGB and heterosexual adults' cognitive skills, and older LGB adults are more likely to exhibit symptoms of mild cognitive impairment or early dementia. The only distinction between LGB adults and heterosexual adults that were identified as the source of the discrepancy was higher rates of depression among gay and bisexual people. Less influential factors included higher rates of alcohol consumption or smoking, and reduced social connections. MSU Professor Ning Hsieh suggested that depression "may be one of the important underlying factors leading to cognitive disadvantages for LGB people," and that they suffer higher rates of depression "for many reasons, including not being accepted by parts of society, feeling ashamed of their sexual orientation, or trying to hide their romantic relationships and being treated unfairly in school or at work."