Gender, sexual orientation and health behaviors in the ELSA-Brasil cohort

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociodemographic and family characteristics and health behaviors of the population sample

	Women in a stable same-sex relationship	Men in a stable same-sex relationship	Women in a stable heterosexual relationship	Men in a stable heterosexual relationship	χ^2	df	p-value
	% n = 82*	% n = 106*	% n = 4548*	% n = 5578*
Sociodemographic characteristics
Age					98.43	6	<0.001
38–49 years	37.8	43.4	33.4	28.0
50–59 years	47.6	37.7	41.1	38.7
60 years or older	14.6	18.9	25.5	33.3
Skin color/ethnicity					49.8	12	<0.001
Black	14.8	11.3	16.3	13.9
Brown	19.8	23.6	26.4	29.7
White	64.2	65.1	53.4	53.2
Yellow	1.2	-	3.0	1.9
Indigenous	-	-	0.9	1.3
Schooling					231.69	6	<0.001
Completed elementary school	6.1	2.8	6.3	15.2
Completed high school	24.4	18.0	32.1	31.1
Completed university	69.5	79.2	61.6	53.7
Social class					298.48	6	<0.001
Lower	12.8	6.8	18.1	29.0
Middle	51.3	37.9	49.4	34.5
Upper	35.9	55.3	32.5	36.4
Family-related characteristics
Cohabitating					186.96	3	<0.001
Yes	71.9	58.5	83.8	90.3
No	28.1	41.5	16.2	9.7
Family with child ≤ 14 years
Yes	6.1	4.7	28.3	30.9	61.4	3	<0.001
No	93.9	95.3	71.7	69.1

* Totals differ because of missing data for some of the variables. df: degrees of freedom.

Table 2. Health behaviors according to the sex and sexual orientation of the participants

Health behaviors	Women in a stable same-sex relationship	Men in a stable same-sex relationship	Women in a stable heterosexual relationship	Men in a stable heterosexual relationship	χ^2	df	p-value
	% n = 82*	% n = 106*	% n = 4548*	% n = 5578*
Smoking					227.50	6	<0.001
Never-smoker	50.0	54.7	66.5	52.1
Former smoker	31.7	33.0	25.0	37.0
Smoker	18.3	12.3	8.5	10.9
Excessive alcohol consumption					209.68	3	<0.001
No	92.7	88.7	95.6	87.4
Yes	7.3	11.3	4.4	12.6
Physical activity					83.40	3	<0.001
Active	43.9	49.1	38.6	47.6
Inactive	56.1	50.9	61.4	52.4
Sleep					14.18	3	<0.001
≥ 7 hours/day	58.0	57.1	51.6	48.4
< 7 hours/day	42.0	42.9	48.4	51.6
Leisure screen time					83.11	3	<0.001
≤ 2 hours/day	41.5	33.0	50.1	41.4
> 2 hours/day	58.5	67.0	49.9	58.6

* Totals differ because of missing data for some of the variables. df: degrees of freedom.

Table 3. Association between health behaviors and sexual orientation

Health behaviors	Sexual Orientation Homosexual *
	OR	95%CI
Smoking **
Never-smoker	1.00
Former smoker	1.14	0.83–1.57
Smoker	1.69	1.10–2.58
Excessive alcohol consumption
No	1.00
Yes	1.09	0.66–1.77
Physical activity
Active	1.00
Inactive	0.88	0.66–1.17
Sleep
≥ 7 hours/day	1.00
< 7 hours/day	0.73	0.55–0.98
Leisure screen time
≤ 2 hours/day	1.00
> 2 hours/day	1.43	1.06–1.93

* The reference category is heterosexual.

** For this variable, the multinomial model was used, with calculation of the relative risk reduction (RRR).

Table 4. Association between health behaviors, gender and sexual orientation

Health behaviors	Women in a stable same-sex relationship *		Men in a stable same-sex relationship *		Women in a stable heterosexual relationship *
	OR	95%CI	OR	95%CI	OR	95%CI
Smoking **
Never-smoker	1.00		1.00		1.00
Former smoker	0.89	0.54–1.46	0.85	0.55–1.29	0.53	0.48–0.58
Smoker	1.75	0.96–3.17	1.07	0.58–1.96	0.61	0.53–0.69
Excessive alcohol consumption
No	1.00		1.00		1.00
Yes	0.55	0.24–1.26	0.89	0.48–1.63	0.32	0.27–0.37
Physical activity
Active	1.00		1.00		1.00
Inactive	1.16	0.75–1.80	0.94	0.64–1.38	1.44	1.33–1.56
Sleep
≥ 7 hours/day	1.00		1.00		1.00
< 7 hours/day	0.68	0.44–1.06	0.71	0.48–1.04	0.88	0.82–0.95
Leisure screen time
≤ 2 hours/day	1.00		1.00		1.00
> 2 hours/day	1.00	0.64–1.55	1.43	0.95–2.16	0.70	0.65–0.76

* The reference category is men in a stable heterosexual relationship.

*** For this variable, the multinomial model was used, with calculation of the relative risk reduction (RRR).