A population-based study of suicide among gays and lesbians in the United States

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Abstract

Sexual minorities have higher rates of suicidal ideation and attempts than heterosexuals, but the risk of suicide remains underexplored due to missing sexual orientation data in death records. We conduct the first population-based study in the United States to estimate suicide rates and risk factors among gay and lesbian populations by combining suicide cases from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) with living population data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from 2014 to 2021. The suicide rate among gays and lesbians was significantly higher at 34.33 per 100,000 compared to 18.91 per 100,000 among heterosexual individuals, revealing a substantial disparity (15.42 per 100,000 gap). This disparity persisted after adjusting for socio-demographic and economic factors, including educational attainment and unemployment status. Notably, controlling for marital status reduced the association by half, which suggests the importance of policies promoting social integration in reducing suicide disparities within sexual minorities.

Authors

• Byungkyu Lee, New York University

• Junsol Kim, University of Chicago

• Bernice A. Pescosolido, Indiana University-Bloomington