Same-Sex Union Can Bring Down Health Expenses: Researchers

Same sex marriage might get approval of the larger society if a U.S. research report is to be believed. The report says legalising same-sex union might bring down healthcare cost among gay and bisexual men.

The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that the men's visit to a community health centre in the state of Massachusetts dropped after same-sex unions were sanctioned. Massachusetts legalised same-sex marriage in 2003.

Earlier studies had highlighted that gay men are more prone to depression and suicidal than heterosexual men. Social acceptability could be a reason for such a behavior.

Marriage within the same-sex is not allowed in the UK. The government earlier this year had announced its intention to make same-sex union legal.

The study was compiled by researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. More than 12, 00 gay men registered with a community health clinic for about two years were surveyed.

Visit to clinics dropped by 13 percent after the law was enacted.

The researchers found less reported cases of blood pressure problems, depression and "adjustment disorders." The scientists inferred that this could be the result of reduced stress.

Lesbian women were not studied due to insufficient data.

"Our results suggest that removing these barriers improves the health of gay and bisexual men," the BBC quoted Dr Mark Hatzenbuehler, who headed the study, as saying.

Dr Hatzenbuehler has published several papers on health problems related to lesbian, gay and bisexual populations.

"Marriage equality may produce broad public health benefits by reducing the occurrence of stress-related health conditions."

The BBC reported that Terrence Higgins Trust, a UK-based sexual health and HIV charity organization, had the opinion that happiness and health were linked.

"It's no surprise that people who are treated as second class citizens tend to have low self-esteem, which in turn makes them more likely to take risks," a Terrance spokesperson is quoted by the BBC.

Whether this is drugs, alcohol abuse, or unsafe sex, treating gay men unequally has lasting repercussions for their health."