Preventing cardiovascular disease among sexual and gender minority persons.

With growing awareness of the unique health risks and disparate outcomes among sexual and gender minority (SGM), for example, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) populations, the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recently released a report highlighting these health disparities. Among the conditions discussed, the NASEM stressed the importance of assessing and addressing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk behaviours leading to adverse outcomes across the lifespan and specifically called attention to the need for preventive health interventions.1 The American Heart Association (AHA) recently published ‘Assessing and Addressing Cardiovascular Health in LGBTQ Adults’, a comprehensive overview of the existing evidence regarding SGM adults and their increased CVD risk compared with heterosexual and cisgender peers.2 Although SGM populations are often grouped together, subgroups within these populations have distinct health risks and exposures. For example, analyses of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data have documented a higher prevalence of self-reported tobacco use3 and CVD diagnoses4 in gender minority (ie, transgender and gender diverse populations) adults relative to cisgender persons. Central to understanding CVD …