Gay - The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Contract No. N01-OD-4-2139 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institutes of Health. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not neces sarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people : building a foundation for better understanding / Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health Issues and Research Gaps and Opportunities, Board on the Health of Select Populations, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-309-21061-4 (hardcover) ISBN 978-0-309-21062-1 (pdf)

1. GaysMedical careUnited States. 2. BisexualsMedical careUnited States.

3. Transgender peopleMedical careUnited States. I. Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health Issues and Research Gaps and Opportunities.

[DNLM: 1. Health StatusUnited States. 2. Minority HealthUnited States.

3. BisexualityUnited States. 4. Health Services ResearchUnited States. 5.

HomosexualityUnited States. 6. TranssexualismUnited States. WA 300 AA1]

RA564.9.H65H44 2011

362.108664dc23

2011017453

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Copyright 2011 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

The serpent has been a symbol of long life, healing, and knowledge among almost all cultures and religions since the beginning of recorded history. The serpent adopted as a logotype by the Institute of Medicine is a relief carving from ancient Greece, now held by the Staatliche Museen in Berlin.

Cover design by LeAnn Locher.

Suggested citation: IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2011. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Knowing is not enough; we must apply.Willing is not enough; we must do.

Goeth e

Advising the Nation. Improving Health .

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COMMITTEE ON LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER HEALTH ISSUES AND RESEARCH GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES

ROBERT GRAHAM (Chair), Professor of Family Medicine and Robert and Myfanwy Smith Chair, Department of Family Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio

BOBBIE A. BERKOWITZ, Dean and Mary ONeil Mundinger Professor, Columbia University School of Nursing; Senior Vice President, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York

ROBERT BLUM, William H. Gates, Sr. Professor and Chair, Department of Populations, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland

WALTER O. BOCKTING, Associate Professor, Program in Human Sexuality, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis

JUDITH BRADFORD, Co-Chair, The Fenway Institute; Director, Center for Population Research in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health, Boston, Massachusetts

BRIAN de VRIES, Professor of Gerontology, San Francisco State University, California