New data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging from the University of Michigan finds that LGBTQ+ people over 50 face different rates of age-related challenges than people over 50 who are not LGBTQ+.

According to the poll, LGBTQ+ people over 50 are more likely to report fair or poor mental health, activity-limiting disabilities, isolation and lack of companionship than people over 50 who do not identify as LGBTQ+.

People over 50 who identify as LGBTQ+ are also less likely than others their age to feel confident they will receive support from multiple sources as they age, and more likely to report experiencing discrimination in healthcare settings.

More specifically, older LGBTQ+ adults were less likely than non-LGBTQ+ older adults to feel confident that as they grow older they will receive social support from organizations or resources in their community (63% vs. 77%), needed healthcare services (81% vs. 86%), and support from family and friends (77% vs. 90%).

The poll also found notable group differences in social connections. While 8% of non-LGBTQ+ adults over 50 said they often felt a lack of companionship in the last year, the rate was more than twice as high (20%) among LGBTQ+ adults over 50. The rate of often feeling isolated from others was three times higher among LGBTQ+ adults, at 18% versus 6% among non-LGBTQ+ adults.

The poll, based at the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, is supported by Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center.

The findings have implications not only for members of the LGBTQ+ community, but also for healthcare and social service providers, and for policymakers.

More information is available on the blog for the National Poll on Healthy Aging.