Condition	Comments
Mental health
Depression, anxiety	Lesbians are more likely to report depression and antidepressant use2; mood and anxiety disorders are more common in bisexual women24; sexual minority youth in particular face disparities related to depression, social anxiety, and other mental health issues.23
Eating disorders	Lesbian and bisexual girls are at higher risk of eating disorders.2
Suicide	Risk factors include prejudice or discrimination associated with being LGBT25; an analysis of survey data from 2008 reported that 9% of WSW-associated deaths were suicide or intentional self-harm, as opposed to 0.5% of women with only male partners26; bisexual women are more likely to report prior suicide attempts (21.3%) than lesbians (16.7%) and heterosexual females (10.2%).24
Physical health
Cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cancer	Risk factors for WSW include obesity, smoking, stress, and lack of preventive care and screening; additional risk factors for breast and ovarian cancers include nulligravidity and low parity.2,27
Intimate partner violence	WSW are more likely than heterosexual women to experience rape, physical violence, severe physical violence, and stalking by an intimate partner; most bisexual women indicated their perpetrators were male, but 67.4% of lesbians reported having only female perpetrators.28
Obesity	A systematic review found that WSW had significantly higher BMIs or a higher percentage with BMIs greater than 30 kg per m2 compared with heterosexual women.27
STIs
General issues	Lesbian youths are one-half as likely to have used condoms during their most recent sexual encounter 23; young women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, or unsure are more likely to report multiple sex partners, drug use, pregnancy, STIs, and coercion into sexual contact7; bisexual girls are more likely to have used emergency contraception and to have terminated a pregnancy 29; WSW are more likely to have sex with men who have sex with men and to report sex with a male injection drug user.7
Bacterial vaginosis	Not technically an STI, but is associated with sex and common among WSW, with an estimated risk of 25% to 52%; risk factors include new sex partners, a symptomatic partner, and receptive oral sex.30
Chlamydia	At least one study has found higher positivity among WSW compared with heterosexual women; risk factors include age younger than 20 years and nonwhite race/ethnicity.7
Genital warts	About 12% of WSW report having genital warts31; more common in bisexual women than lesbians and heterosexual women.7
Gonorrhea	Not normally transmitted by female-female sex, but it could be because it lives in vaginal fluid.21
Hepatitis B	Can be transmitted through bodily fluids, including blood and vaginal fluid.21
HIV	WSW can transmit HIV, but it is rare.7
HPV	Up to 30% of WSW have genital HPV, and about 25% report a history of cervical abnormalities31; women with HIV infection have higher rates of HPV17; WSW may not get HPV vaccinations because they believe their risk is low.31
HSV-2	Up to 36% of women who have ever had same-sex partners have HSV-2 compared with 24% of women who have never had same-sex partners; genital transmission among women is inefficient but possible.21
Syphilis	Syphilis has been reported in WSW, probably through oral sex or genital-genital contact.14
Substance use
Alcohol and drugs	LGB adolescents have higher rates of substance use, including a higher likelihood of using multiple substances, and increasing usage with age.16
Tobacco	The 2012–2013 National Adult Tobacco Survey found that the proportion of bisexual women (36.0%) and lesbians (22.2%) who smoke is significantly higher than heterosexual women (14.3%)32; WSW begin smoking at a younger age and are three times more likely to smoke e-cigarettes, hookahs, and cigars32; bisexual women in particular start younger, smoke more, and have fewer attempts to quit than heterosexual women.33