Sexual identity and seeking mental healthcare in young adults: A national cohort study

In the UK Millennium Cohort Study (n=12,782; age 23), LGBQ+ young adults show higher odds of seeking and receiving mental healthcare than heterosexual peers, with seeking probabilities up to 49%.

• Why it matters: Evidence has focused on mental health inequalities but has provided limited insight into whether sexual identity shapes access to and receipt of mental healthcare.
• What they did: Sexual identity at age 17 was linked to seeking mental healthcare at age 23 using multivariable logistic regression with sequential adjustment for sociodemographics, past and current mental health, victimisation, loneliness, and social support.
• The result: After full adjustment, the heterosexual-to-LGBQ+ seeking probability gap narrowed from 25% to 10%, and among help-seekers LGBQ+ groups had higher odds of receiving care, with other sexual identity at 35% vs 15% for heterosexuals.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.