LGBT life expectancy

Early studies by the controversial psychologist Paul Cameron purported to find that homosexuals had a life expectancy 20 to 30 years shorter than heterosexuals; however his methodology and flaws make his findings unreliable. Cameron's methodology was described as "just ridiculous" by demographer Nicholas Eberstadt at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, and the epidemiologist Morten Frisch said the research flaws were ''of such a grave nature that no decent peer-reviewed scientific journal should let it pass for publication".[2] Cameron had relied on newspaper obituaries which clearly referred to sexual orientation. In the 1980s, Cameron had been expelled from the American Psychological Association for misrepresentations of scientific research.[2]

Another study published in 1998 by Hogg et al. modelled the impact of AIDS deaths in Vancouver between 1987 and 1992, estimating a loss of life expectancy in the gay male population of between 8 and 20 years.[2] The authors released a statement in 2001 clarifying that their findings would no longer be relevant as AIDS deaths had fallen significantly,[3] primarily due to antiretroviral therapy.[2]

Despite the flaws of Paul Cameron's research, and the limitations of the Hogg study, many anti-gay groups and figures have cited these studies to characterize homosexuality as inherently dangerous or as an unhealthy "lifestyle".[8][2] Paul Cameron's research group claimed that homosexuality is "as dangerous to public health as drug abuse, prostitution, and smoking".[5] In 1997, the U.S. secretary of education William Bennett made the claim during a television interview that gay men die at 43 years, a figure from the flawed Cameron study.[4][9]

In response to frequent misuse, Hogg et al. noted their findings would no longer be applicable in 2001.[3] In 2003, the economist Walter E. Williams cited the Hogg study to argue that homosexuals should pay more for life insurance, stating "that's a lifestyle shortening of life expectancy greater than obesity and tobacco use".[10] In 2012, the Australian Anglican Archbisohop Peter Jensen claimed homosexuality reduced the lifespan by 20 years in a debate on same-sex marriage.[1]

The Danish epidemiologist Morten Frisch carried out more robust research in 2009 using marriage data from Denmark. His study found excess mortality was limited to the first few years of marriage, consistent with men who had preexisting illnesses (such as HIV/AIDS) marrying and dying.[1] Frisch stated "we observed a drastic reduction from 9.63 excess deaths per 1000 person-years among those who married their partner in the pre-HAART period to 1.53 excess deaths per 1000 person-years for those who married during the HAART period". According to Frisch, "the claims of drastically increased overall mortality in gay men and lesbians appear unjustified".[5]

Same-sex marriage has been linked with increases in life expectancy.[11]

In 2013, Frisch also carried out another study which found excess mortality in homosexual men had shrunk further.[11][12][13] It linked same-sex marriage with increases in life expectancy.[11]

A 2014 study purported to find that sexual minorities living in areas with high levels of anti-gay prejudice had their life expectancy reduced by 12 years. However, it was retracted in 2019 when it was discovered there was a coding error in the data, and that after correcting the error it "rendered the association between structural stigma and mortality risk no longer statistically significant".[14]

A 2020 study in Sweden found that mortality among homosexual men and women did not significantly differ from heterosexuals, although it was elevated for bisexual men and women.[6]