Discrimination and mental health in the minority sexual population: Cross-sectional analysis of the first peruvian virtual survey

Abstract

Objective This study sought to evaluate the association between discrimination and having mental health problems in the past 12 months in the sexual minority population in Peru. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a secondary database corresponding to the first LGBTI survey in Peru in 2017. We included adults who self-identified their sexual orientation as gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, or asexual/others. Both the exposure and dependent variables were self-reported by the participants. Multivariable Poisson regression was used to determine the association by calculating adjusted prevalence ratios (APR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results Out of 9760 respondents, more than two-thirds of the participants reported having been discriminated against or having experienced violence at some time in their lives (70.3%) and one-fourth reported having mental health problems (23.8%). In the multivariable regression model, the prevalence of mental health problems in the last 12 months was 72% higher for the group of individuals who experienced discrimination when compared with the group that did not experience discrimination (APR = 1.72, 95% CI 1.57–1.88). The association was stronger among who self-identified lesbians (APR = 2.08, 95% CI 1.65–2.64). Conclusion The prevalence of mental health problems and discrimination was high in this population. In addition, we found a statistically significant association between discrimination and the occurrence of mental health problems in the last 12 months.