Mental ill health in LGBT+ and BAME communities
- People who identify as LGBT+ are more likely to have suicidal thoughts, and attempt suicide, than those who do not identify as LGBT+ (1–3)
- People who identify as LGBT+ are at increased risk of developing anxiety disorders (4,5)
- Self-harm is more common in ex-service personnel, young people, women, LGBT+ community, prisoners, asylum seekers, and people who have experienced physical, emotional or sexual abuse (6)
- Up to 16% of people who identify as LGBT+ experience symptoms of an eating disorder (7,8)
- Psychosis is more common among BAME groups (9–13)
- Mental health issues are more likely to affect young people who identify as LGBT+ than those who do not (8,14–17)
- Young people who identify as LGBT+ are more likely to report self-harming than young people who do not identify as LGBT+ (15,18)
- Young people from BAME and migrant backgrounds are more likely to show developmental difficulties associated with psychosis and develop psychotic disorders later in life (10,19)
- Symptoms of depression are more common and severe in young people who identify as LGBT+ than in those who do not identify as LGBT+ (15,17,18)
- Adolescents who identify as LGBT+ are at increased risk of anxiety disorders (20,21)
- 11% – 32% of young people who identify as LGBT+ have attempted suicide in their lifetime (8,18,22)
- Young people who identify as LGBT+ are more likely to show symptoms of eating disorders than those who do not identify as LGBT+ (8,16,23)
- People who identify as LGBT+ are at increased risk of both mental ill health and substance misuse (1,2,7)
- Ex-service personnel who identify as LGBT+ are more likely to have suicidal thoughts, and attempt suicide, than those who do not identify as LGBT+ (24)
