Examining the Influence of Sexual Orientation-Related Nondiscrimination Laws on 30-Year Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Purpose: Our aim was to expand existing evidence on structural determinants of cardiovascular health disparities among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults by examining sexual orientation differences in the impact of sexual orientation-related nondiscrimination laws on 30-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Methods: We analyzed data from Waves III (2001-2002), IV (2008-2009), and V (2016-2018) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Sexual orientation was categorized as exclusively heterosexual, mostly heterosexual, bisexual, or gay/lesbian. We categorized changes in sexual orientation-related nondiscrimination laws between Waves III-IV as no change (reference group), increased, or decreased. We assessed 30-year CVD risk at Wave V using the Framingham Risk Score. We ran sex-stratified regression models to examine whether the association between changes in sexual orientation-related nondiscrimination laws and 30-year CVD risk was moderated by sexual orientation. Results: The sample included 3768 participants (mean age [standard deviation] = 28.7 [±1.72] years) of whom approximately 77% were White, 11% Hispanic, and 51% female. Compared with exclusively heterosexual participants, an increase in nondiscrimination laws was associated with lower CVD risk among mostly heterosexual women (B = -5.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -8.50 to -1.59) and gay men (B = -10.22, 95% CI = -19.05 to -1.39). There were no significant differences for other LGB subgroups when compared with exclusively heterosexual adults. Conclusions: Increasing laws that prohibit sexual orientation-related discrimination may play an important role in reducing CVD risk among some LGB subgroups. These findings can inform structural-level interventions to reduce CVD risk among LGB adults.