Gay couples who live together are more likely to report their health as poor or fair than married straight couples, says a new report from researchers at Michigan State University. For the study, researchers examined health records collected as part of the National Health Interview Surveys from 1997 to 2009.
A total of 686,846 adults between the ages of 18 and 65 replied to surveys detailing their relationship status and their perceived physical condition. They found that gay cohabitating men were 61 percent more likely to classify their health as poor or fair than straight married counterparts. Forty-six percent of gay, cohabitating women said the same.
Cohabitating same-sex couples did, however, report better perceived health than straight cohabiting couples, or divorced, widowed or never-married individuals. Thus far researchers could not pinpoint the cause of the discrepancy but said discrimination and other stresses associated with gay lifestyles could be the culprit.
"Access to legal marriage may provide same-sex cohabitors health benefits similar to those found in different-sex married persons, reducing health disparity," the authors wrote.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.