Dissecting sexual minority subgroup differences in the association between depression, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties.
<h4>Introduction</h4>A growing body of research has demonstrated extensive mental health disparities affecting sexual minority populations, yet little research has assessed how these disparities may affect cognitive functioning among subgroups of sexual minorities.<h4>Methods</h...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2024-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295821&type=printable |
| _version_ | 1797361215469518848 |
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| author | Ethan Morgan Christina Dyar Karen Rose |
| author_facet | Ethan Morgan Christina Dyar Karen Rose |
| author_sort | Ethan Morgan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Introduction</h4>A growing body of research has demonstrated extensive mental health disparities affecting sexual minority populations, yet little research has assessed how these disparities may affect cognitive functioning among subgroups of sexual minorities.<h4>Methods</h4>Data come from the 2021 National Health Information Survey (NHIS). Survey-weighted linear regression analyses were used to assess self-reported measures of cognition, stratified by subgroups sexual identity. In particular, we focused on the association between symptoms of depression or anxiety and each of the measures of cognition, adjusting for demographic covariates.<h4>Results</h4>Among 31,994 NHIS participants in the 2021 survey, 5,658 (17.7%) reported at least some difficulty in remembering or concentrating. Basic demographic differences existed when assessing any cognitive difficulty, particularly for bisexual participants (aOR = 2.73; 95% CI: 2.07, 3.60) and participants identifying as a different identity (aOR = 4.22; 95% CI: 2.72, 6.56). Depression was significantly associated with cognitive difficulty with the largest relationship observed among gay/lesbian participants (aOR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.29, 1.49). The association between anxiety and cognitive difficulty was smallest among bisexuals (aOR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.18) and relatively consistent across other subgroups: heterosexuals (aOR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.22, 1.24), gay/lesbians (aOR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.19, 1.36), and those with a different identity (aOR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.35).<h4>Conclusion</h4>There is a clear set of health disparities between sexual minority subgroups and heterosexuals across all cognitive difficulties. Future research should focus on developing a better understanding of differences in cognition based on sexual minority status while also working to ascertain how disparities vary among sexual minorities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:50:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-677a189788a44e1cbf20ad40d18f5629 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:50:44Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-677a189788a44e1cbf20ad40d18f56292024-01-09T05:31:11ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-01191e029582110.1371/journal.pone.0295821Dissecting sexual minority subgroup differences in the association between depression, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties.Ethan MorganChristina DyarKaren Rose<h4>Introduction</h4>A growing body of research has demonstrated extensive mental health disparities affecting sexual minority populations, yet little research has assessed how these disparities may affect cognitive functioning among subgroups of sexual minorities.<h4>Methods</h4>Data come from the 2021 National Health Information Survey (NHIS). Survey-weighted linear regression analyses were used to assess self-reported measures of cognition, stratified by subgroups sexual identity. In particular, we focused on the association between symptoms of depression or anxiety and each of the measures of cognition, adjusting for demographic covariates.<h4>Results</h4>Among 31,994 NHIS participants in the 2021 survey, 5,658 (17.7%) reported at least some difficulty in remembering or concentrating. Basic demographic differences existed when assessing any cognitive difficulty, particularly for bisexual participants (aOR = 2.73; 95% CI: 2.07, 3.60) and participants identifying as a different identity (aOR = 4.22; 95% CI: 2.72, 6.56). Depression was significantly associated with cognitive difficulty with the largest relationship observed among gay/lesbian participants (aOR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.29, 1.49). The association between anxiety and cognitive difficulty was smallest among bisexuals (aOR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.18) and relatively consistent across other subgroups: heterosexuals (aOR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.22, 1.24), gay/lesbians (aOR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.19, 1.36), and those with a different identity (aOR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.35).<h4>Conclusion</h4>There is a clear set of health disparities between sexual minority subgroups and heterosexuals across all cognitive difficulties. Future research should focus on developing a better understanding of differences in cognition based on sexual minority status while also working to ascertain how disparities vary among sexual minorities.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295821&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Ethan Morgan Christina Dyar Karen Rose Dissecting sexual minority subgroup differences in the association between depression, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties. PLoS ONE |
| title | Dissecting sexual minority subgroup differences in the association between depression, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties. |
| title_full | Dissecting sexual minority subgroup differences in the association between depression, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties. |
| title_fullStr | Dissecting sexual minority subgroup differences in the association between depression, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dissecting sexual minority subgroup differences in the association between depression, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties. |
| title_short | Dissecting sexual minority subgroup differences in the association between depression, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties. |
| title_sort | dissecting sexual minority subgroup differences in the association between depression anxiety and cognitive difficulties |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295821&type=printable |
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