A new study looks at drug use and mental health among LGBT Australians.

Transgender men and women in Australia are at the highest risk of suffering mental health problems among all gender and sexual identity groups, a study has found.

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A Closer Look At Private Lives 2, funded by beyondblue and the Movember Foundation, surveyed just under 4000 LGBT Australians.

Along with transgender people, the report identifies a number of high risk groups for mental ill-health and psychological distress, said beyondblue CEO Georgie Harman.

"Rates of psychological distress are higher among LGBT Australians with lower income and education levels, who have been subjected to heterosexist harassment or abuse, or who have consumed one or more illicit drugs," she said.

Bisexual women and men also reported higher levels of psychological distress than lesbians and gay men respectively.

The study found transgender men and women experience very high rates of harassment and abuse for their gender identity, at 55% and 49% respectively.

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About 35% of gay men and lesbians had experienced abuse or harassment for their sexual identity, while under a third of bisexual men and women had gone through the same.

Across all gender and sexual identity groups, employed people reported lower levels of psychological distress, a finding also linked to socio-economic status.

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