At a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
individuals—often referred to under the umbrella acronym
LGBT—are becoming more visible in society and more socially
acknowledged, clinicians and researchers are faced with
incomplete information about their health status. While LGBT
populations often are combined as a single entity for research
and advocacy purposes, each is a distinct population group with
its own specific health needs. Furthermore, the experiences of
LGBT individuals are not uniform and are shaped by factors of
race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location,
and age, any of which can have an effect on health-related
concerns and needs. Researchers still have a great deal to learn
and face a number of challenges in understanding the health
needs of LGBT populations. To help assess the state of the
science, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) asked the IOM
to evaluate current knowledge of the health status of lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender populations; to ident