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Lesbians care less about their health than other women
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
38% of American lesbians are not screened for early detection of cervical cancer, according to a study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Cervical cancer is caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus. Regular Pap smears help detect the disease at an early stage.
As it turns out, lesbians pay less attention to their health than heterosexual women and more often ignore doctors' recommendations for regular checkups. While only 13% of heterosexual women have never had a Pap smear in the last three years, among lesbians this figure is 38%.
"We know that the human papillomavirus can be transmitted through homosexual intercourse, so lesbians are also at risk," explains the study's author, University of Maryland professor J. Kathleen Tracy. "If these women do not undergo regular screening, their risk of developing cervical cancer increases, since they ignore the opportunity to promptly detect and eliminate the processes preceding the development of the disease."
The researchers concluded that the higher rate of women ignoring Pap tests among lesbians is not due to their carelessness, but to their lower level of communication with their doctors than other women. Heterosexual women are more open and frank in their communication with their gynecologists.
"Our study found that women who were open about their sexual orientation with their gynaecologists were two and a half to three times more likely to have regular screening. They were more likely to comply with their doctors' recommendations and to believe that Pap smears were important for their health," says Professor J Kathleen Tracy.
The study surveyed three thousand women who identify as lesbians. The most common reasons they gave for ignoring screening were the lack of a referral from a doctor (17.5%) and the lack of a doctor as such (17.3%).
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