Skip to main content

Table 1 Demographics, length of hospitalization, and medical characteristics by sexual orientationa

From: Eating disorders in sexual minority adolescents and young adults: examining clinical characteristics and psychiatric co-morbidities in an inpatient medical setting

Characteristic

Sexual Orientation

Total (N = 463)b

Heterosexual Individuals (N = 364)c

Sexual Minority Individuals (N = 99)c

p-Valued

Age, years

15.60 ± 2.68

15.67 ± 2.54

15.34 ± 3.13

0.286

Sex assigned at birth

0.063

 Female

388 (83.80)

299 (82.14)

89 (89.90)

 

 Male

75 (16.20)

65 (17.86)

10 (10.10)

 

Race, N (%)

0.133

 White or Caucasian

291 (62.85)

239 (65.66)

52 (52.53)

 

 Asian or NHOPIe

42 (9.07)

28 (7.69)

14 (14.14)

 

 Black or African American

13 (2.81)

10 (2.75)

3 (3.03)

 

 Other

99 (21.38)

74 (20.33)

25 (25.25)

 

 Unknown/Declined

18 (3.89)

13 (4.92)

5 (5.05)

 

Ethnicity, N (%)

0.628

 Hispanic

88 (19.01)

70 (19.23)

18 (18.18)

 

 Non-Hispanic

351 (75.81)

277 (76.10)

74 (74.75)

 

 Unknown/Declined

24 (5.18)

17 (4.67)

7 (7.07)

 

Length of hospitalization stay (days)

9.93 ± 6.47

10.18 ± 6.90

9.01 ± 4.44

0.111

BMI kg/m2

17.83 ± 2.82

17.72 ± 2.77

18.21 ± 3.01

0.132

Percent median body mass indexf

88.11 ± 13.81

87.31 + 13.26

91.09 + 15.38

0.016

Vital signs

 

 Pulse (beats per minute) nadir during hospitalization

45.73 ± 10.61

45.98 ± 10.66

44.82 ± 10.45

0.333

 Systolic Pressure (mmHg) nadir during hospitalization

89.92 ± 9.63

83.74 ± 9.46

84.57 ± 10.27

 

 Diastolic Pressure (mmHg) nadir during hospitalization

45.47 ± 7.22

45.35 ± 7.15

45.89 ± 7.50

 

Electrolyte analysis at admissiong

 

 Sodium (135–145 mmol/L)

138.09 ± 10.64

138.12 ± 11.93

137.92 ± 2.46

0.860

 Potassium (3.5–5.0 mmol/L)

3.88 ± 0.681

3.89 ± 0.036

3.84 ± 0.065

0.499

 Magnesium (1.7–2.2 mg/dL)

2.13 ± 0.394

2.13 ± 0.434

2.15 ± 0.192

0.720

 Phosphorous (2.9–5.0 mg/dL)

4.05 ± 2.60

4.08 ± 2.91

3.93 ± 0.609

0.612

Other laboratory evaluation at admissiong

 

 Triglycerides (< 200 mg/dL)

46.56 ± 33.24

45.99 ± 34.23

48.65 ± 29.36

0.507

 Cholesterol (< 170 mg/dL)

166.11 ± 41.36

166.04 ± 41.86

166.37 ± 39.65

0.948

 Hemoglobin (12–17 g/dL)

12.96 ± 1.24

12.95 ± 1.25

13.02 ± 1.22

0.652

 Hematocrit (36–52%)

38.36 ± 3.53

38.31 ± 3.57

38.59 ± 3.40

0.498

 Creatinine (0.45–1.08 mg/dL)

0.78 ± 1.84

0.80 ± 2.07

0.71 ± 0.16

0.676

 Blood urea nitrogen (7–21 mg/dL)

11.91 ± 6.44

11.79 ± 6.74

122.35 ± 6.44

0.453

 Thyroid stimulating hormone (0.45–4.33 mIU/L)

1.97 ± 1.44

2.03 ± 1.47

1.72 ± 1.27

0.065

 Free thyroxine (10–18 pmol/L)

12.00 ± 1.82

12.04 ± 1.77

11.84 ± 2.01

0.353

 Aspartate transaminase (13–35 U/L)

28.84 ± 35.15

29.69 ± 39.06

25.65 ± 11.86

0.328

 Alanine transaminase (8–24 U/L)

22.07 ± 28.87

21.94 ± 30.62

22.57 ± 21.32

0.852

 Albumin (3.5–5.0 g/dL)

4.32 ± 0.42

4.30 ± 0.40

4.38 ± 0.48

0.122

  1. Bold face indicates significant p value
  2. aTable values are mean ± SD for continuous variables and n (column %) for categorical variables
  3. bTotal number of participants with eating disorder diagnosis and sexual orientation listed in chart
  4. cPercentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding
  5. dT-test was used for continuous variables. Chi Square or Fisher's exact test if n < 5 was used for categorical variables
  6. eNHOPI = Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders
  7. f50th percentile body mass index for age and sex
  8. gReference range includes ranges for males and females over and under the age of 18 years
Back to article page

Journal of Eating Disorders

ISSN: 2050-2974