Sexual Minorities Live Shorter Lives in Bigoted Communities

Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals live shorter lives if they spend the majority of their time living in communities that do not accept their sexual preferences, according to a new study,

The study, which was published in the Journal Social Science and Medicine, set out to measure the impact social stigmas in a community had on its residents.

To do this, the study's research team used data from the General Social Survey, which has been conducted bi-annually since 1994.  This survey asked participants about their social attitudes, measuring the amount of prejudice or stigma in a community based on responses to question concerning their opinions on things such as gay marriage and gay sexual interaction. The survey also asked people about their own private lives, including sexual preference. Of the 21,045 people surveyed, approximately 4 percent said they had been involved in same -sex relationships.

This data, once collected, was compared with national death records to determine the moralities of the individuals in these communities.

They research team needed their study in 2008. By that time, of the people who had been in same -sex relationships, 92 percent of the participants from low-stigma areas were still alive. However, only 78 percent of the gay, lesbian, or bisexual individuals (LGBs) from high-stigma areas proved to alive by the same time.

According to the study, this would imply that the life expectancy of LGBs living in intolerant areas was shortened by almost 12 years, compared to LBGs living in tolerant regions.

Specific causes of death were also looked at. Researchers found that in LGBs, short lives were often due to suicides, murders, complications from violence, and heart disease. Heart disease and suicide in particular are known products of a high-stress quality of life.

In their concluding statements, the researcher wrote that one theory behind their numbers would be that living in intolerant communities creates dangerous stress levels for sexual minorities such as gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. The researchers also made sure to note that they did not find any conclusive evidence linking HIV, smoking, or drinking, to the shorter life expectancies in certain regions.

The study was published in Social Science and Medicine this February.