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. 2018 Jul;12(4):1058-1067.
doi: 10.1177/1557988318774994. Epub 2018 May 23.

Age Cohort and Health Service Utilization Among Gay Men

Daniel C Green  1 , Jeremy T Goldbach  1 , Henry F Raymond  2
Affiliations

Age Cohort and Health Service Utilization Among Gay Men

Daniel C Green et al. Am J Mens Health. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Gay men report unique health disparities and service utilization trends compared to their heterosexual peers including a lack of health-care participation which may lead to chronic health conditions. Limited research has been conducted analyzing group differences among gay men such as the influence of one's age cohort on disparities. The aim of this study was to examine the association age cohort has on health service utilization among gay men. A sample of 383 self-identified gay men was collected by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Older men were less likely to have visited a medical provider in the past 12 months compared to middle-aged men (OR = 0.10; 95% CI [2.47, 39.8]) and younger men (OR = 0.35; 95% CI [1.28, 10.42]). However, older men were more likely to have a usual source of medical care compared to younger men (OR = 4.0; 95% CI [.05, .84]). Age cohort differences in health-care service utilization appear to exist among gay men. This study highlights additional areas for exploration including the impact HIV and socioeconomic status have on health-seeking behavior and health service utilization.

Keywords: age; gay men; health care; service use.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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