# Investigating substance use, minority stress, and inflammation among sexual and gender minority participants in the All of Us Research Program

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2022 · $121,059

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Sexual minority (SM, i.e., people who are not heterosexual) and gender minority (GM, i.e., people who have a
gender that is discordant from the sex they were assigned at birth, as opposed to cisgender people who have a
gender that is concordant with the sex they were assigned at birth) people (collectively abbreviated as SGM) are
at greater risk for health disparities including very high rates of substance use. Within studies on substance use,
GM people are largely unrepresented as GM status is rarely measured or reported. The primary explanation for
the higher rates of substance use and health problems among SGM people is minority stress, which confers an
additional stress burden on SGM people including experiences of discrimination, expectations of discrimination,
concealment of one’s identity, and internalization of social stigma. Biological changes can occur in response to
both minority stress and substance use, including activation of inflammatory pathways. Understanding biological
correlates of substance use and minority stress may help us to develop better ways to identify and treat
substance use disorders and to understand the downstream health outcomes of SGM people.
This study will leverage the All of Us Research Program, a national study aiming to collect data from 1 million
people within the United States, with strong representation of SGM participants. We will examine differences in
substance use between SGM subgroups, examine relationships between minority stress and substance use
patterns, and identify how substance use, minority stress, and HIV status are related to C-reactive protein (a
marker of inflammation). This study will help us to better understand substance use among SGM people and
inform how minority stress, substance use, and HIV may interact to alter inflammatory pathways. This study will
also inform the development of biomarkers for substance use to improve substance use treatment and
prevention.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10643426
- **Project number:** 3R01DA052016-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Annesa Flentje
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $121,059
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-09-30 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10643426

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10643426, Investigating substance use, minority stress, and inflammation among sexual and gender minority participants in the All of Us Research Program (3R01DA052016-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10643426. Licensed CC0.

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