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Yin Y, Workman TE, Blosnich JR, Brandt CA, Skanderson M, Shao Y, Goulet JL, Zeng-Treitler Q. Sexual and Gender Minority Status and Suicide Mortality: An Explainable Artificial Intelligence Analysis. Int J Public Health 2024; 69:1606855. [PMID: 38770181 PMCID: PMC11103011 DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2024.1606855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Objectives: Suicide risk is elevated in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Limited data on LGBT status in healthcare systems hinder our understanding of this risk. This study used natural language processing to extract LGBT status and a deep neural network (DNN) to examine suicidal death risk factors among US Veterans. Methods: Data on 8.8 million veterans with visits between 2010 and 2017 was used. A case-control study was performed, and suicide death risk was analyzed by a DNN. Feature impacts and interactions on the outcome were evaluated. Results: The crude suicide mortality rate was higher in LGBT patients. However, after adjusting for over 200 risk and protective factors, known LGBT status was associated with reduced risk compared to LGBT-Unknown status. Among LGBT patients, black, female, married, and older Veterans have a higher risk, while Veterans of various religions have a lower risk. Conclusion: Our results suggest that disclosed LGBT status is not directly associated with an increase suicide death risk, however, other factors (e.g., depression and anxiety caused by stigma) are associated with suicide death risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Yin
- Washington DC VA Medical Center, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, United States
- Biomedical Informatics Center, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - T. Elizabeth Workman
- Washington DC VA Medical Center, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, United States
- Biomedical Informatics Center, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - John R. Blosnich
- Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Veterans Health Administration, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Cynthia A. Brandt
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Veterans Health Administration, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, West Haven, CT, United States
| | - Melissa Skanderson
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Veterans Health Administration, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, West Haven, CT, United States
| | - Yijun Shao
- Washington DC VA Medical Center, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, United States
- Biomedical Informatics Center, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Joseph L. Goulet
- Pain, Research, Informatics, Multi-Morbidities, and Education Center, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, United States
| | - Qing Zeng-Treitler
- Washington DC VA Medical Center, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, United States
- Biomedical Informatics Center, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
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Deb B, Porter K, van Cleeff A, Reardon LC, Cook S. Emphasizing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data Capture for Improved Cardiovascular Care of the LGBTQ+ Population. JAMA Cardiol 2024; 9:295-302. [PMID: 38265768 DOI: 10.1001/jamacardio.2023.5267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Importance The rising self-identifying lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) population makes understanding the unique health care needs of sexual and gender minoritized patients an urgent one. The interaction between minority stress and cardiovascular disease has been well described among underrepresented minoritized populations. The underrepresentation of minoritized populations in clinical research is partly responsible for worse cardiovascular outcomes in these populations. The absence of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE) data makes it difficult to understand the cardiovascular health of LGBTQ+ adults, thereby widening health care disparities in this population. Advancing cardiovascular health equity for LGBTQ+ patients must begin with careful and accurate SOGIE data collection. Observations Current SOGIE data capture remains inadequate despite federal mandates. Challenges in data collection include political and regulatory discrimination, patient/practitioner hesitancy, lack of supportive guidance on SOGIE data collection, improper terminology, regulatory inertia, and inadequate and often incorrect integration of SOGIE data into electronic health records (EHRs). Additional challenges include grouping participants as "others" for statistical significance. The inclusion of SOGIE data has demonstrated an impact in other fields like cancer survivorship and surgery. The same needs to be done for cardiology. Conclusions and Relevance Potential solutions for improving much-needed SOGIE data collection include (1) implementing LGBTQ+ inclusive policies, (2) integrating SOGIE data into the EHR, (3) educating health care professionals on the relevance of SOGIE to patient-centered care, and (4) creating a diverse cardiovascular workforce. These steps can substantially enhance the ability to collect SOGIE data to address LGBTQ+ cardiovascular health care disparities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brototo Deb
- Department of Medicine, Georgetown University-WHC, Washington, DC
| | - Kadijah Porter
- Department of Medicine, University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida
| | - Ashlan van Cleeff
- Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute, Atrium Health, Charlotte, North Carolina
| | - Leigh C Reardon
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Ahmanson/UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center and UCLA Children's Heart Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Stephen Cook
- Indiana Heart Physicians, Franciscan Physician Network, Indianapolis, Indiana
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Gordon KS, Buta E, Pratt-Chapman ML, Brandt CA, Gueorguieva R, Warren AR, Workman TE, Zeng-Treitler Q, Goulet JL. Relationship Between Pain and LGBT Status Among Veterans in Care in a Retrospective Cross-Sectional Cohort. J Pain Res 2023; 16:4037-4047. [PMID: 38054108 PMCID: PMC10695019 DOI: 10.2147/jpr.s432967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Pain assessment is performed in many healthcare systems, such as the Veterans Health Administration, but prior studies have not assessed whether pain screening varies in sexual and gender minority populations that include individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT). Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate pain screening and reported pain of LGBT Veterans compared to non-LGBT Veterans. Methods Using a retrospective cross-sectional cohort, data from the Corporate Data Warehouse, a national repository with clinical/administrative data, were analyzed. Veterans were classified as LGBT using natural language processing. We used a robust Poisson model to examine the association between LGBT status and binary outcomes of pain screening, any pain, and persistent pain within one year of entry in the cohort. All models were adjusted for demographics, mental health, substance use, musculoskeletal disorder(s), and number of clinic visits. Results There were 1,149,486 Veterans (218,154 (19%) classified as LGBT) in our study. Among LGBT Veterans, 94% were screened for pain compared to 89% among those not classified as LGBT (non-LGBT) Veterans. In adjusted models, LGBT Veterans' probability of being screened for pain compared to non-LGBT Veterans was 2.5% higher (95% CI 2.3%, 2.6%); risk of any pain was 2.1% lower (95% CI 1.6%, 2.6%); and there was no significant difference between LGBT and non-LGBT Veterans in persistent pain (RR = 1.00, 95% CI (0.99, 1.01), p = 0.88). Conclusions In a nationwide sample, LGBT Veterans were more likely to be screened for pain but had lower self-reported pain scores, though adjusted differences were small. It was notable that transgender and Black Veterans reported the greatest pain. Reasons for these findings require further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsha S Gordon
- Research, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
- General Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Eugenia Buta
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Mandi L Pratt-Chapman
- Department of Medicine and The George Washington Cancer Center, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Cynthia A Brandt
- Research, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ralitza Gueorguieva
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Allison R Warren
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Pain Research, Informatics, Multi-Morbidities, and Education Center, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
| | - T Elizabeth Workman
- Biomedical Informatics Center, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
- Research, Washington VA Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Qing Zeng-Treitler
- Biomedical Informatics Center, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
- Research, Washington VA Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Joseph L Goulet
- Research, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
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