GLMA 31st Annual Conference Sept. 18-21, 2013

Registration is now OPEN! Join us—and over 400 of your colleagues—this September in Denver, CO, as we discuss the unique health needs of LGBT patients and explore best practices in addressing these needs as well as the needs of LGBT health professionals and health profession students. GLMA’s Annual Conference is the premier LGBT health conference and the world’s largest scientific gathering devoted to LGBT health issues and concerns. GLMA’s Annual Conference also provides a critical forum for the presentation of research into the health needs of LGBT people. Click here to register now! Annual Conference registration includes: • 20.5 Credit Hours* of Educational Programming (workshop, poster and plenary sessions) • Exhibit Hall Access • Conference Bag and Materials • Receptions • Continental Breakfasts • Membership Luncheon (members and registered guests of members only) Tickets to additional special events such as the Annual Gala Banquet and networking lunches are also available through the main registration system. Guests and partners are welcome at the Annual Conference!  GLMA Nursing Summit The GLMA Nursing Summit—a pre-conference, day-long summit—will take place the day before the main conference programming for the GLMA Annual Conference. The GLMA Nursing Summit will bring together LGBT and ally nurses to develop an action plan to improve critical LGBT issues in the nursing profession. Click here to learn more about this exciting event! For more information about GLMA’s 31st Annual Conference, including travel information and discounts, reduced rate for the conference hotel and much, much more, please click here!  While you are there, be sure to check out the welcome video from Denver Mayor Michael Hancock! Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com,

New study Finds Lesbians Not Accessing Cancer screenings

According to an October 23, 2012, Baltimore Sun article, posted below, a new study by the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that 38% of lesbians polled by the university indicated they do not receive routine Pap smears, compared to 13% of women overall. The study also found that women were more than twice as likely to receive routine cervical cancer screening if they were open with their doctor about their sexual orientation. “We know that HPV can be transmitted during same-sex sexual activity, so lesbians are at risk of developing cervical cancer," the the study’s author, J Kathleen Tracy said. "If these women aren’t screened, they are at increased risk of getting this type of cancer by missing opportunities to identify precursor cervical abnormalities that can be treated.”

Gay women not getting tested for cervical cancer

correction: An earlier posting misstated the percentage of lesbians who had not received pap tests compared to all women. The Sun regrets the error.

Many gay women are not being screened for cervical cancer, putting them at increased risk of developing the potentially fatal disease, according to new research by the University of Maryland School of Medicine

 

Nearly 38 percent of about 1,000 lesbians polled by University of Maryland researchers had not received routine pap smears to screen for cervical cancer. In comparison, Centers for Disease Control data shows that 13 percent of women overall had not had a pap test in the last three years.

Gay women may not be comfortable talking to doctors about their sexual orientation, said the study’s author, J. Kathleen Tracy, an associate professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a researcher at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

Women who were open with their doctors about their sexual orientation were more than twice as likely to get a routine cervical cancer screening, the study found.

“We know that HPV can be transmitted during same-sex sexual activity, so lesbians are at risk of developing cervical cancer," Tracy said. "If these women aren’t screened, they are at increased risk of getting this type of cancer by missing opportunities to identify precursor cervical abnormalities that can be treated.”

Cervical cancer can be prevented with regular checkups. Doctors use pap tests to look for abnormal cells that could lead to the cancer.

Tracy released the study's findings at the 11^th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. Cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted HPV virus.

The study found that the two common reasons women did not get pap tests was that they didn't not have a physician or a referral from a physician.

Posted at The Baltimore Sun  http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/blog/bal-gay-woman-cervical-cancer,0,2932320.story

Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com

Higher Suicide Risk For LGBT Surfaces In Community Study

A first-ever research study of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Nebraska entitled Midlands LGBT Needs Assessment Community Report, has determined that the LGBT population has a significantly higher incidence of suicidal thoughts. Nearly 50 percent of the respondents indicated that they had serious suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives. The study looked at physical, mental, social, and sexual health aspects of participants.

Conducted by researchers with the Midlands Sexual Health Research Collaborative (MSHRC), the study provides a snapshot of the health and well-being of LGBT persons in Nebraska, a predominately rural state. Although LGBT Nebraskans overall see themselves as healthy, the study also found that more than 26 percent of the 770 people surveyed smoked. That compares to an average of 20 percent of the overall population. "Several studies have shown smoking rates to be higher among LGBT persons," Dr. Fisher said. "LGBT Nebraskans are no different and actually may be somewhat higher than other states due to higher levels of social stigma." Issues like suicide, smoking, sexual health and even seeking health care were linked to social conditions that allow for LGBT to be "out" about their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, Dr. Fisher said. "Almost across the board, we kept finding that persons who were more 'out of the closet' to family, friends, co-workers, and even casual acquaintances were more likely to be engaging in healthy behaviors," he said.
Read more on the Medical News Today website. Read the report at http://www.unmc.edu/publichealth/docs/Midlands_LGBT_Community_Report.pdf

Posted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com,

Study: Gay Men Are Twice as Likely to Have Cancer

By Meredith Melnick Monday, May 9, 2011 Time

Reposted at keystothecloset.blogspot.com

It makes for a grabby headline, but are gay men really more likely to develop cancer? A new study published in the journal Cancer found that gay men were nearly twice as likely to report a diagnosis of cancer than straight men. But why?

The study did not answer that question. It's not clear, for instance, whether gay men were more likely to develop cancer than straight men, whether they were more likely to be diagnosed, or whether they more likely to survive and report it.

Similar data in women found no difference in cancer rates by sexual orientation; however, the study did find that lesbian and bisexual cancer survivors were more likely to self-report poor or fair health than heterosexual women. Self-reported health status did not differ by sexual orientation in men.

Researchers led by Ulrike Boehmer of the Boston University School of Public Health analyzed three years of data on more than 120,000 adults who filled out the California Health Interview survey. Among other questions, the respondents were asked about their sexual orientation and whether they had ever been diagnosed with cancer.

Out of 51,000 men, about 3,690 reported having had cancer: they accounted for 8% of gay men and 5% of straight men; the increase in risk in gay men was not attributable to other factors like race, income level or age.

Among 71,000 women, 7,252 reported a cancer diagnosis, but the rate of diagnosis was the same regardless of sexual orientation. But women who identified as lesbian or bisexual were more than twice as likely to report fair or poor health than straight women after surviving cancer.

Again, the study didn't delve into the reasons for the disparities in rates of cancer diagnosis, but the authors said the gay community is more vulnerable to certain cancer risk factors. For instance, both gay men and lesbian women are more likely to smoke and abuse alcohol than their straight peers — these are known contributors to cancer.

Gays and lesbians are also less likely to get routine cancer screening and check-ups because of perceived discrimination from doctors, said Liz Margolies, executive director of the National LGBT Cancer Network.

The higher rates of HIV infection in gay men than in straight men could also help explain the difference: HIV-positive patients have a higher risk of anal, lung and testicular cancers and Hodgkin's lymphoma (HIV status was outside the scope of the study, however).

Another factor that may affect health in the LGBT community is "minority stress," lead author Boehmer said, referring to the psychological strain endured by minority groups as a result of prejudice or discrimination. MyHealthNewsDaily reported:

"It's been my experience that the lower quality of life that lesbians report after a cancer diagnosis does not reveal as much about the particular diagnosis, but more about our life experience in general, particularly when confronting a major life crisis" like a cancer diagnosis, a relationship change or a job loss, said Linda Ellis, executive director of the Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative in Georgia, who was not involved with the study.

It's not that lesbian or bisexual women walk around more depressed than their straight peers, Ellis said. But coming out to each new person, whether it's the new nurse in the chemo clinic or the members of the cancer support group, takes a lot of energy, she said. ... In addition, it's not unusual for lesbian or bisexual women to have severed ties with family, so a person's natural circle of support may be weakened, she said.

The current was not designed to measure potential contributors to cancer and health risks in the LGBT community. But the findings suggest that public-health officials need to pay more attention to the gay, lesbian and bisexual population — particularly when it comes to cancer prevention and screening.

In April, an Institute of Medicine report proposed including sexual orientation information in medical records and in government studies as a way to increase understanding of the health risks that may be particular to the gay and lesbian community.

"At a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals — often referred to under the umbrella acronym LGBT — are becoming more visible in society and more socially acknowledged, clinicians and researchers are faced with incomplete information about their health status," said the report.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/09/study-gay-men-are-twice-as-likely-to-have-cancer/#ixzz1MXYnflls