Health care is a weighted issue for LGBTQ+ people. Due to income disparities, particularly forlesbians, bisexual and trans women and people of color, access to health care and essential services is often limited.Among queer and trans people,canceris more prevalent,HIV is more prevalent,autoimmune disease is more prevalentandsubstance abuseis more prevalent.Another issue which is rarely discussed is the higher rate of mental illness: depression and anxiety are common for LGBTQ+ people, often as a factor of coping with familial breaks, stigma and ostracization.Suicidality suicidal thoughts, attempts and even completion is higher among LGBTQ+ people, withLGBTQ+ youth at high risk.STIs sexually transmitted infections are also a concern, with HIV transmission still high, and gonorrhea on the rise. Several outbreaks ofmpoxin recent years have raised the issue of STIs contracted via traveling.These overlapping issues of more illness and less access to care is a confounding one for LGBTQ+ people.Pervasive illnessWhat is rarely discussed in the queer and trans community or in the larger community about LGBTQ+ health care is how pervasive some illness is and how specific deficits with regard to health care exacerbate that reality.Cancer is the most concerning issue among these illness factors. Lack of access to preventative care as well as to early intervention for cancer among queer and trans-identified people leads to poorer outcomes and makes actual deaths a real possibility.Lesbians and bisexual women have higher rates ofbreast cancerwhile gay men and trans people are at greater risk for a range of cancers.LGBTQ+ people are also at higher risk for HPV, which causes cervical, anal, testicular and throat cancers. There is a vaccine for HPV that can be given between ages 10 and 45.Not receiving preventatives like the HPV vaccine or appropriate testing like mammography or prostate screening can limit eventual treatment options with a cancer diagnosis.Health care providersOne of the biggest impediments for LGBTQ+ people in accessing preventative and other health care is having a regular health care provider. There are a myriad of reasons for this, including affordability and fear of homophobia and/or transphobia as well as fear of stigmatization.These are not unreasonable concerns given how little research into LGBTQ+ health outcomes has been conducted. Lack of medical resources and social support are other factors.There is also a lack of medical care, including gender-affirming care. In aged health care settings, there is limited access to full treatment options as well as pronounced instances of medical mistreatment.Challenges for LGBTQ+ people of colorAs problematic as treatment for LGBTQ+ people is overall, LGBTQ+ people of color face unique challenges. Racism is pervasive in America and in the health care system. Cultural mistrust of the medical system from generations of mistreatment of particularly Black patients plays a significant role. LGBTQ+ people of color also feel scrutinized for their sexual orientation and gender identity leading to suspicion regarding the system as a whole and providers who are not themselves people of color.Yet this presents an additional problem, as there are far fewer Black and brown providers available for people to access. A 2023 study published inJAMA Network Openfound that Black primary care physicians practiced in fewer than half of U.S. counties between 2009 and 2019. The same study showed that a 10% increase in Black physician representation was associated with a more than 30-day increase in life expectancy for Black individuals highlighting the real, measurable impact of provider diversity.Opening up a broader discussion about the serious need for more access to providers of color and in lieu of having more such providers, working to educate providers who are not people of color to better understand these issues for LGBTQ+ people of color to better help patients.What the experts sayTheNational Institute of Health(NIH) andCenters for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) both had information on their individual websites on LGBTQ+ people. However, the Trump administration has taken steps to remove this information. In particular, the CDC website states,Per a court order, HHS is required to restore this website as of 11:59PM ET, February 14, 2025. Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female. The Trump Administration rejects gender ideology and condemns the harms it causes to children, by promoting their chemical and surgical mutilation, and to women, by depriving them of their dignity, safety, well-being, and opportunities. This page does not reflect biological reality and therefore the Administration and this Department rejects it.Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appointed Secretary of Health by Donald Trump, has been widely criticized for promoting vaccine skepticism and controversial theories. He has previously referenced aclaim originally circulated by radio host Alex Jones suggesting that certain chemicals in the water may affect sexual development in animals, and has drawn connections between those chemicals and gender identity in humans.In his 2021 book, Kennedy claimed that AIDS isnt caused by the HIV virus but instead spread by gay men using poppers and other recreational drugs in gay bars and clubs. He appeared towalk back some of these theories when he later voiced support for Pepfar, the U.S. program that supplies antiviral AIDS treatments in Africa, but the damage may already have been done. The theory of AIDS denialism, which Kennedy echoed, was popularized in the 1980s by biologist Peter Duesberg of the University of California, Berkeley. Though Duesberg wrote about his claims in multiple publications, his work has long since been widely discredited.Kennedy spreading this theory of how AIDS is spread 50 years after the fact could have disastrous effects. In addition to it being false, it also blames gay men for the disease. This victim-blaming could ratchet up homophobia, create stigma and force people who are HIV+ underground.The growing visibility of LGBTQ+ identityA2024 Gallup pollshowed that 7.6% of Americans identify as LGBTQ+. But breaking down that number into different age groups shows a different demographic with Gen Z coming in at 30% far more willing to disclose than their Gen X and Baby Boomer parents age groups.What can be done to lower the health care risks associated with being LGBTQ?Educating providers and the medical industrial complex itself to the unique needs of LGBTQ+ people is key. Creating a safe space for all LGBTQ+ people in health care settings is essential. Providers wearing Pride symbols have been shown to make people feel they have an ally in their provider. Doctors offices have the opportunity to clearly signal that they are welcoming spaces not leave patients guessing or feeling like acceptance is up for debate.Above all, queer and trans people need space to speak openly about what it really means to be under-served and to name the stigma and fear that often come with navigating the health care system.The post Health care is a weighted issue for LGBTQ+ people appeared first on News Is Out.