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Abstract
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The full 12 page article is available (open access) online, doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303088
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people are more likely than heterosexual people to attempt suicide during their lifetime. Public health leaders and health care providers need an accurate estimate of the scope of this problem to prioritize and improve suicide prevention programs. Such estimates, however, have been difficult to achieve because LGB people may not be accurately identified or included in all types of studies. In this review, we combined published reports to arrive at a better estimate of how many LGB adults have attempted suicide. We found that as many as 20% of, or 1 in 5, LGB adults have attempted suicide during their lifetimes. The estimate is higher than previously thought, and higher within studies based in LGB community venues than within broad population surveys that include heterosexual and LGB respondents but require LGB persons to disclose their LGB identity. This research suggests that the type of study we use affects how we estimate the number of LGB persons who experience health issues—in this case, suicide attempts. We need more studies to understand why study type matters in this regard and to better identify groups within LGB communities who are most affected by suicide.
Language: en |