ABSTRACT
Patterns of disparate health between racial/ethnic minorities and Whites are persistent and pervasive in the United States. Blacks are more likely to have higher rates of hypertension and premature death from coronary heart diseases than any other racial/ethnic group, and both Blacks and Hispanics have a higher prevalence of diabetes compared with non-Hispanic Whites and Asians (Center for Disease Control (CDC), 2013). Blacks, moreover, generally have poorer health than non-Hispanic Whites at all levels of income (Williams & Collins, 2001). Although racial/ethnic disparities in health have garnered attention, particularly in academic research and in public health sectors, health outcomes are also patterned by gender and sexual minority status (e.g., Gorman & Read, 2006). Recent research finds, for instance, that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults have a higher prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as smoking, higher body mass index (BMI), and greater alcohol consumption relative to heterosexual individuals (e.g., Hatzenbuehler, McLaughlin, & Slopen, 2013).
