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Objectives. We studied overall mortality in a demographically defined, complete cohort of gay men and lesbians to address recent claims of markedly shorter life spans among homosexual persons.
Methods. We calculated standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) starting 1 year after the date of same-sex marriage for 4914 men and 3419 women in Denmark who married a same-sex partner between 1989 and 2004.
Results. Mortality was markedly increased in the first decade after same-sex marriage for men who married between 1989 and 1995 (SMR=2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.01, 2.50), but much less so for men who married after 1995, when efficient HIV/AIDS therapies were available (SMR=1.33; 95% CI=1.04, 1.68). For women who married their same-sex partner between 1989 and 2004, mortality was 34% higher than was mortality in the general female population (SMR=1.34; 95% CI=1.09, 1.63). For women, and for men marrying after 1995, the significant excess mortality was limited to the period 1 to 3 years after the marriage.
Conclusions. Despite recent marked reduction in mortality among gay men, Danish men and women in same-sex marriages still have mortality rates that exceed those of the general population. The excess mortality is restricted to the first few years after a marriage, presumably reflecting preexisting illness at the time of marriage. Although further study is needed, the claims of drastically increased overall mortality in gay men and lesbians appear unjustified. (Am J Public Health. 2009;99:133-137. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.133801)
Numerous reports have addressed the excess mortality among gay men who are HIV infected or who have AIDS.1 The remarkable decline in mortality following the introduction of highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) regimens since 1996 has also been well documented. 2,3 However, there is a lack of methodologically sound studies on whether mortality among gaymen who are not directly affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic (the majority of gay men) is any different from that of the general male population. Likewise, despite recent calls for increased attention to the health needs of sexual minority groups,4,5 no population-based study has provided data on the overall mortality among lesbians. One major practical reason that mortality has not been studied in these groups, whose basic human rights remain controversial in many countries, is the difficulty identifying large and unbiased groups of gay men and lesbians....