Overview

We conducted a systematic literature review of all peer-reviewed articles published in English before October 2018 that assessed the effects of discrimination on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the United States. We identified 300 studies that reported primary research on this topic, with the following findings:

• 82% (245 studies) found robust evidence that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is associated with harms to the health of LGBT people.

• 14% (41 studies) reported mixed effects, such as significant findings for bisexual men but not for gay men.

• 5% (14 studies) found no significant link between discrimination and health harms for LGBT people.

Bottom Line

Out of 300 peer-reviewed studies assessing the link between anti-LGBT discrimination and well-being, 286 studies (95%) found that discrimination is associated with mental and physical health harms for LGBT people.

Below are 8 key findings of our review, and links to the 300 studies on which they are based.