Gay men more likely to see a doctor

I am so not gay if this were the case. I don’t go to doctor’s unless something is really wrong..lol

Study links sexual preference to health care

THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – A new study has found the use of health-care services differs depending on sexual preference.

The Statistics Canada study examined whether sexual preference was a factor in health-care use between 2003 and 2005 – it looked at things like consulting health-care providers, having a regular doctor and using preventive procedures such as pap tests.

It found gay men were much more likely than heterosexual men to have consulted medical specialists or mental-health service providers such as social workers in the year prior to the survey.

Lesbians were less likely than heterosexual women to have seen a family doctor during the same period or to have undergone a pap test.

About 346,000 adults identified themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual in the survey, representing 1.9 per cent of the total population aged 18 to 59.

The study suggests the use of health-care services differs by sexual preference independent of other factors such as age, income, education and health status.

About 29 per cent of gay men consulted a medical specialist in the 12 months before the survey, compared with 19 per cent of heterosexual men.

Similarly, eight per cent of gay men consulted a psychologist, nearly triple the proportion of three per cent among their heterosexual counterparts. About seven per cent of gay men consulted social workers or counsellors, compared with four per cent of heterosexual men.

There were no differences between bisexual and heterosexual men in consultations with doctors. However, bisexual men had more frequent contact with social workers or counsellors.

Seventy-seven per cent of lesbians had seen a family doctor in the 12 months before the survey, compared with 83 per cent of heterosexual women.

On the other hand, 10 per cent of lesbians consulted a psychologist, as did 11 per cent of bisexual women, well above the proportion of only four per cent among heterosexual women.

Seven per cent of lesbians and nine per cent of bisexual women attended a self-help group, while only three per cent of their heterosexual counterparts did so.

About 17 per cent of bisexual women had contact with social workers or counsellors, nearly three times the proportion of six per cent among heterosexual women.

Statistically similar proportions of gay, bisexual and heterosexual men reported that they did not have a regular doctor.

But 19 per cent of lesbians and 24 per cent of bisexual women did not have a regular doctor, as opposed to only 12 per cent of heterosexuals.