Cancer Risk Based on Sexual Orientation in the United States: A Comparative Analysis between Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Heterosexual Individuals

Abstract Purpose Our study aimed to compare the prevalence and likelihood of cancer diagnosis between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) groups and the heterosexual population in the United States between 2017 and 2021. Methods This study analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2017–2021, which included 134,372 heterosexual and 4,576 LGB individuals aged 18 and above. The prevalence of any cancer and some selected cancers were calculated for the LGB and compared with heterosexual adults. Sexual orientation was used to predict cancer diagnosis for each sex using multiple logistic regression, adjusting for other sociodemographic determinants. Results The unadjusted prevalence of any cancer among the LGB population was 9.0%. Lesbian and Bisexual women had higher prevalence of cancer of the cervix, uterus, ovary, thyroid, bone, skin melanoma, leukemia, and other blood cancers than Heterosexual women. Gay and Bisexual men had a higher prevalence of cancer of the bladder, kidney, skin (non-melanoma, and other kinds), bone, lymphoma, and leukemia than Heterosexual men. After adjusting for other socio-demographic factors, gay men were 1.73 (CI: 1.14–2.63, p = 0.01) times more likely than heterosexual men to be diagnosed with cancer, while lesbian women were 2.26 (CI: 1.24–4.16, p = 0.009) times more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than heterosexual women. Conclusion Some sexual minority subgroups are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than their heterosexual counterparts. As a result, more research and SM-specific intervention efforts should focus on cancer risk assessment, screening, prevention, treatment, and survivorship in SM populations.