This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Mental health care lacking for transgender, sexual minority adults

Transgender and bisexual adults were significantly more likely to report unmet needs for mental health care and untreated depression, compared with cisgender heterosexual women.

“The results of this study illustrate the disparities in access to mental health care for sexual and gender minority populations, which can contribute to higher levels of untreated depression and other mental health conditions,” Susan G. Kornstein, MD, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Women’s Health, said in a press release. “Interventions aimed at improving access to mental health care in under-served LGBT communities would be an important step forward.”

To compare unmet need for mental health care and untreated depression among heterosexual cisgender women, cisgender lesbians, cisgender bisexual women and transgender individuals, researchers conducted a cross-sectional internet survey among 704 adults in Ontario, Canada.

Transgender participants were 2.4 times as likely to report unmet need for mental health care, compared with cisgender heterosexual women (P < .01).

Bisexual participants were 1.8 times as likely to report unmet need for mental health care, compared with cisgender heterosexual women (P = .02).

Untreated depression was 1.6 times more common among transgender participants, compared with cisgender heterosexual women (P = .04).

These associations did not occur after adjusting for social context factors such as discrimination and social support.

“Our finding of high rates of unmet need for mental health care and untreated depression, with elevated rates among transgender people and bisexual women in particular, suggests that the mental health system is not currently meeting the needs of many sexual and gender minority people,” Leah S. Steele, MD, PhD, of St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto, and colleagues wrote. “While this was also true for many of the cisgender heterosexual women who participated in this study, the striking mental health disparities associated with minority sexual and gender identities suggest a particularly urgent need to address access for these populations.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.