The four lines of evidence were consistent with previous findings suggesting that homosexual activity may be associated with a lifespan shortened by 20 to 30 years. Four contemporary databases were used to test that estimate: (1) obituaries in the homosexual press from 1993 through 1997 reflected treatment success for those with AIDS but suggested a median age of death less than 50 years (2) two large random sexuality surveys in 1994-one in the USA and the other in Britain-yielded results consistent with a median age of death for homosexuals of less than 50 years (3) the median age of those ever married in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway was about 50 years, while that of the ever homosexually partnered was about 40 yr further, the married were about 5 times more apt to be old and 4 times less apt to be widowed young and (4) intravenous drug abusers and homosexuals taking HIV tests in Colorado had almost identical age distributions. In general, the higher the score, the greater the.
Previous estimates from obituaries and pre-1994 sex surveys suggested that the median age of death for homosexuals is less than 50 yr. But the scale can be used as a rough but worthwhile measure of heterosexual attitudes toward homosexuals.
