Gay men are twice as likely to have had cancer, a Californian study reports.
120,000 people were surveyed in the study which was conducted over three years.
The results have provoked calls for a more in-depth report, as the discrepancy between gay and straight participants remains unexplained.
It has been speculated that gay men face a higher cancer risk as there is a higher rate of anal cancer in homosexual men. The HIV infection, more common in gay men, has also been linked to cancer.
The journal ‘Cancer’ has also revealed that lesbians and bisexual women suffer poorer health after cancer than heterosexuals. In response Boston University’s Dr Boehmer states that
“One common explanation for why lesbian and bisexual women report worse health compared to heterosexual women is minority stress [which] suggests lesbian and bisexual women have worse health, including psychological health due to their experiences of discrimination, prejudice, and violence.”
3,690 men and 7,252 women out of those surveyed had been diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives. 1,493 of the men who took part were gay, 918 lesbian and 1,116 of the female participants identified as bisexual.
