Lesbian health issues

Dragon Mood? -- overlooked

From CNN, here is an article on the lack of information regarding lesbians' health issues. Here are some excerpts:

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Accustomed to neglect from much of the medical establishment, the lesbian community is assigning itself the task of assessing -- often bluntly -- its members' distinctive array of health problems.

Even without a specific crisis as grave as the AIDS epidemic, the diagnosis is sobering: Compared to heterosexual women, lesbians appear to have higher rates of smoking, obesity and alcohol use. Often lacking health insurance or wary of unsympathetic doctors, they also may be less likely to undergo routine medical exams that could identify cancer and other problems at early stages.

Complicating all these factors, researchers say, is a glaring shortage of comprehensive data, resulting from the fact that most health surveys -- as well as death certificates -- don't account for sexual orientation.

"We don't know the mortality rates, we don't know the suicide rates," said Dr. Patricia Robertson of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. "Lesbians are invisible."
...
Nationally, lesbian researchers are asking federal agencies to ensure that sexual orientation is included more often among questions asked in major health studies.

"We've gotten sick of having to give talks without data," Robertson said. "There's so much that needs to be done, and not enough funding. Our community is not being respected in terms of studying health."

All I can say is it's about damn time!