Legalising same-sex marriage found to improve gay men's health

A new study has found the health of gay men improved because of the legalisation of same-sex marriage, the Daily Mail reported.

Vanderbilt University researchers found that gay men living in US states where same-sex marriage was legal, before the Supreme Court decision in 2015, had better health because of their access to health care.

The study is the first to show how marriage equality across the US improved health care access for gay men.

For the study, the team examined data from a health survey, the CDC's Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System, between 2000 and 2016.

Six percent of Men living in states where same-sex marriage was legal, reported to having a regular health care provider and 12% reported to receiving a check up in the past year.

However, what was surprising was there seem to be no improvements seen in health effects like improvements in mental health or behaviour like heavy drinking.

"What was most surprising to me, I would have expected health behaviours to improve as access to healthcare for men of same sex households improved,' lead author Dr Christopher Carpenter, a professor of economics at Vanderbilt University, told the Daily Mail.

"It could be that there's not enough time to see these improvements in mental health since same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in 2015.

"It could also be that right after same sex-marriage was legalized, there was a lot of backlash which had bad effects on health."