Objectives: We sought to determine whether sexual orientation is related to mental and physical health and health behaviors in the general population.
Methods: Data was derived from a health interview survey that was part of the second Dutch National Survey of General Practice, carried out in 2001 among an all-age random sample of the population. Of the 19685 persons invited to participate, 65% took part in the survey. Sexual orientation was assessed in persons aged 18 years and older and reported by 98.2% of 9684 participants. The respondents' characteristics are comparable with those of the Dutch general population.
Results: Gay/lesbian participants reported more acute mental health symptoms than heterosexual people and their general mental health also was poorer. Gay/lesbian people more frequently reported acute physical symptoms and chronic conditions than heterosexual people. Differences in smoking, alcohol use, and drug use were less prominent.
Conclusions: We found that sexual orientation was associated with mental as well as physical health. The causal processes responsible for these differences by sexual orientation need further exploration.