The Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Disease Control published a report on Jul. 15 that offers a bit of insight into how sexual orientation could interact with several factors to affect health in ways both negative and beneficial.

They study examined data collected from 34,557 people who had participated in the 2013 National Health Interview Survey. Of these participants, 1.6 percent identified themselves as gay or lesbian, 0.7 percent as bisexual, 1.1 percent did not specify and 96.6 percent identified themselves as straight.

When examining several health factors in relation to sexual orientation and gender, several insights surfaced. Bisexual participants were found to have the least access to healthcare as the result of having the least amount of insurance than other groups. Nearly 25 percent of those identifying as bisexual did not have insurance while close to 84 percent of straight, gay, and lesbian participants reported being insured.

The different groups were more likely to seek out different types of medical care as well. Straight people were the least likely to seek out HIV testing than gay, lesbian, or bisexual participants. Likewise, almost half of lesbian and gay participants had been vaccinated against the flu while heterosexual and bisexual people were vaccinated at a smaller rate.

Obesity rates differed among the groups as well. Women in all groups and straight men were more likely to be obese. Bisexual men and women, as well as gay and lesbian people were more likely to routinely exercise than their heterosexual counterparts.

More testing must be done before any of the data reported by this study can be considered conclusive. Several factors are unaccounted for and the majority of the data collected was done using self-reporting measures. However, the insights provided by this study warrant further testing and will likely provide a solid start for further research.