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Table 1 Sociodemographic, Drug Use, Mental Illness, and Chronic Disease Characteristics by Sexual Orientation among Adults Age ≥ 50, United States, 2015–2017

From: Co-occurring mental illness, drug use, and medical multimorbidity among lesbian, gay, and bisexual middle-aged and older adults in the United States: a nationally representative study

 

Men

Women

Total (n = 11,876)

% (SE)

Hetero-sexual

(n = 11,509), % (SE)

Gay

(n = 227) % (SE)

Bisexual

(n = 140) % (SE)

Total (n = 14,004) % (SE)

Hetero-sexual

(n = 13,708) % (SE)

Lesbian

(n = 173) % (SE)

Bisexual

(n = 123) % (SE)

Survey Year

 2015

33.0 (0.7)

33.1 (0.7)

31.0 (4.3)

32.5 (5.5)

32.8 (0.5)

32.7 (0.5)

33.5 (5.3)

40.4 (5.1)

 2016

33.2 (0.5)

33.2 (0.5)

35.1 (3.5)

27.7 (4.4)

33.3 (0.5)

33.4 (0.5)

33.6 (4.8)

20.7 (4.3)

 2017

33.8 (0.6)

33.7 (0.6)

33.9 (4.6)

39.8 (5.4)

33.9 (0.4)

33.9 (0.4)

33.0 (4.6)

39.0 (4.6)

Age

 50–64, y

58.4 (0.5) b

58.1 (0.5)

75.0 (3.3)

62.1 (5.6)

54.8 (0.5) b

54.5 (0.6)

66.2 (5.5)

76.3 (4.8)

 ≥ 65, y

41.6 (0.5)

41.9 (0.6)

25.0 (3.3)

37.9 (5.6)

45.2 (0.5)

45.5 (0.6)

33.8 (5.5)

23.7 (4.8)

Race/Ethnicity

 White

74.2 (0.5)

74.3 (0.5)

69.9 (4.0)

66.3 (4.9)

72.8 (0.6)

72.7 (0.6)

81.4 (3.5)

63.5 (4.6)

 Black

9.6 (0.3)

9.5 (0.3)

10.3 (2.0)

11.3 (3.4)

11.1 (0.4)

11.1 (0.4)

7.0 (2.6)

9.7 (3.4)

 Hispanic

10.4 (0.4)

10.3 (0.4)

14.8 (3.3)

10.5 (4.0)

10.1 (0.4)

10.1 (0.4)

6.8 (2.2)

16.0 (4.1)

 Asian/Other

5.9 (0.3)

5.9 (0.3)

5.1 (2.6)

11.8 (4.1)

6.1 (0.3)

6.0 (0.3)

4.8 (2.0)

10.8 (3.9)

Education

 Less than High School

13.7 (0.4) c

13.8 (0.4)

9.8 (2.1)

11.2 (2.9)

13.8 (0.4) c

13.8 (0.4)

11.3 (2.9)

18.4 (3.5)

 High School Diploma

26.4 (0.5)

26.8 (0.5)

11.6 (2.5)

17.4 (4.0)

27.1 (0.5)

27.4 (0.5)

11.2 (2.9)

16.4 (3.8)

 Some College

25.8 (0.5)

25.9 (0.6)

25.9 (3.6)

20.8 (4.1)

29.5 (0.5)

29.4 (0.5)

33.0 (4.2)

34.0 (5.1)

 College Degree

34.1 (0.6)

33.5 (0.6)

52.7 (4.6)

50.6 (4.1)

29.7 (0.7)

29.5 (0.7)

44.5 (5.0)

31.3 (4.5)

Annual Family Income

  < $20,000

13.2 (0.4) a

13.0 (0.4)

15.8 (2.5)

25.9 (4.9)

17.8 (0.5)

17.8 (0.5)

18.5 (4.2)

18.5 (4.8)

 $20,000–$49,999

28.0 (0.5)

28.0 (0.5)

28.3 (4.0)

28.6 (4.7)

31.9 (0.5)

31.9 (0.5)

28.9 (4.0)

36.0 (5.6)

 $50,000–$74,999

17.0 (0.4)

17.0 (0.5)

21.5 (3.9)

13.2 (3.6)

16.4 (0.3)

16.4 (0.4)

19.4 (3.2)

16.2 (4.1)

 ≥ $75,000

41.8 (0.6)

42.0 (0.6)

34.4 (4.8)

32.3 (4.6)

33.9 (0.5)

33.9 (0.5)

33.3 (4.2)

29.4 (4.6)

Relationship Status

 Not Married

30.7 (0.5) c

29.6 (0.4)

75.4 (3.4)

59.0 (5.2)

44.4 (0.6) c

44.0 (0.6)

63.9 (5.6)

64.2 (4.3)

 Married

69.3 (0.5)

70.4 (0.4)

24.6 (3.4)

41.0 (5.2)

55.6 (0.6)

56.0 (0.6)

36.1 (5.6)

35.8 (4.3)

Government Assistance

13.7 (0.4)

13.6 (0.4)

18.2 (3.5)

15.5 (3.2)

17.5 (0.4)

17.4 (0.4)

21.2 (4.1)

25.2 (4.3)

Past-Year Drug Use

 Any Past-Year Drug Use

10.5 (0.3) c

10.2 (0.3)

20.9 (4.6)

20.4 (4.7)

6.7 (0.2) c

6.5 (0.2)

13.1 (2.9)

27.7 (4.4)

 Cannabis (unprescribed)

7.4 (0.3) a

7.2 (0.3)

13.4 (4.1)

14.4 (3.8)

4.1 (0.2) c

3.9 (0.2)

9.2 (3.0)

21.2 (4.1)

 Opioids (misuse)

2.8 (0.2) a

2.7 (0.2)

5.6 (1.9)

5.3 (1.7)

2.1 (0.1) b

2.0 (0.1)

1.8 (1.1)

6.6 (2.2)

 Tranquilizers (misuse)

1.2 (0.1) c

1.1 (0.1)

5.4 (2.0)

4.2 (2.1)

1.1 (0.1)

1.1 (0.1)

2.1 (1.4)

1.7 (1.2)

 Illegal Drugs (non-cannabis)

1.5 (0.1) a

1.5 (0.1)

2.7 (1.4)

4.8 (2.0)

0.7 (0.1) b

0.7 (0.1)

0.8 (0.8)

4.1 (2.3)

Mental Illness (Past Year)

 Mental illness d

4.8 (0.2) c

4.5 (0.2)

9.8 (2.4)

16.8 (3.4)

7.9 (0.3) b

7.8 (0.3)

8.7 (2.6)

17.8 (4.3)

Chronic Disease

 Asthma

5.8 (0.3)

5.7 (0.3)

8.7 (2.3)

6.3 (2.8)

9.8 (0.3)

9.7 (0.3)

15.0 (3.3)

13.1 (3.7)

 Bronchitis/COPD

6.0 (0.3)

6.0 (0.3)

8.2 (1.9)

8.6 (2.5)

9.0 (0.3) a

8.9 (0.3)

15.6 (3.9)

12.0 (3.4)

 Cancer

10.7 (0.4)

10.7 (0.4)

12.6 (3.1)

8.1 (2.4)

12.5 (0.3)

12.5 (0.4)

13.2 (3.5)

13.9 (3.9)

 Cirrhosis

0.7 (0.1)

0.7 (0.1)

0.8 (0.8)

0.0 (0.0)

0.4 (0.1)

0.4 (0.1)

0.0 (0.0)

2.0 (1.4)

 Diabetes

18.4 (0.5)

18.4 (0.5)

19.8 (3.3)

13.5 (3.0)

16.8 (0.4)

16.9 (0.4)

18.2 (3.4)

10.9 (2.6)

 Heart Condition

22.1 (0.6)

22.1 (0.5)

22.4 (3.2)

23.5 (4.4)

15.9 (0.4)

15.9 (0.4)

12.4 (2.8)

11.5 (3.2)

 Hepatitis B/C

3.0 (0.2) c

2.8 (0.2)

13.6 (2.9)

7.7 (2.6)

1.5 (0.1) a

1.4 (0.1)

2.3 (1.3)

4.9 (2.0)

 High Blood Pressure

31.2 (0.5)

31.1 (0.5)

35.7 (3.9)

29.6 (4.8)

36.3 (0.5) a

36.4 (0.5)

29.5 (3.7)

27.2 (4.1)

 HIV/AIDS

0.3 (0.1) c

0.7 (0.0)

12.2 (2.6)

1.7 (0.9)

0.1 (0.0)

0.1 (0.0)

0.0 (0.0)

0.0 (0.0)

 Kidney Disease

3.3 (0.2)

3.2 (0.2)

4.0 (1.8)

5.3 (2.6)

3.5 (0.2)

3.5 (0.2)

3.1 (1.6)

3.7 (2.0)

 0–1 Chronic Diseases

74.3 (0.5) b

74.5 (0.5)

63.3 (3.9)

74.7 (4.1)

73.2 (0.5)

73.2 (0.5)

72.8 (4.0)

74.9 (4.4)

 Multiple Chronic Diseases

25.7 (0.5)

25.5 (0.5)

36.7 (3.9)

25.3 (4.1)

26.8 (0.5)

26.8 (0.5)

27.2 (4.0)

25.1 (4.4)

  1. White and black participants were identified as non-Hispanic; SE Standard error, COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  2. aSignificant at P < .05 based on Rao-Scott chi-square test
  3. bSignificant at P < .01 based on Rao-Scott chi-square test
  4. cSignificant at P < .001 based on Rao-Scott chi-square test
  5. dDefined as moderate or severe mental illness based on National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicator [19]
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