Discussion: "I was told that lesbians and gays are less healthy than heterosexuals; I am not convinced these findings are true?"

A large-scale study found that seniors from the gay and lesbian community suffer more from chronic illness, mental distress, and loneliness than heterosexuals. The main explanation is not biological, in the context of sexual behavior or sexually transmitted diseases, but is mainly related to a less supportive environment and a less stable family unit among LGBT community members. Information about sexual identity and sexual orientation does not exist in medical files, so the credibility of the data is necessarily related to the willingness of the people to retrieve the required information. The phrase "loneliness is a deadly disease" is very relevant to members of the LGBT community. This is partly due (according to the study) to the fact that many community members do not have biological children. Further, later studies present quite similar findings. Availability, family unit, and loneliness are probably the primary keys to a consistently observed phenomenon.

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual older adults suffer more chronic health conditions than heterosexuals, a study finds
https://www.washington.edu/news/2017/08/24/lesbian-gay-and-bisexual-older-adults-suffer-more-chronic-health-conditions-than-heterosexuals-study-finds/ (Copy & Paste)