Britons who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual have a lower life expectancy than those who identify as straight, new figures suggest

Britons who identify as lesbian, g@y or bis£xu@l (LGB+) have a lower life expectancy than those who identify as straight or heteros£xual, official figures suggest.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) linked 2021 census data to de@th registrations to estimate life expectancy according to s£xual orientation. The analysis found that a 20-year-old LGB+ man in England and Wales can expect to live on average another 59.4 years.

A man of the same age identifying as heteros£xual is likely to live for an additional 60.7 years, more than 12 months longer, according to the data.

Life expectancy for women identifying with an LGB+ orientation was also lower when  compared with women who identified as straight or heteros£xual.

A 20-year-old  LGB+ woman can expect to live on average another 63.0 years, compared with 64.0 years for a heteros£xual woman, the analysis suggested.

It is the first time that life expectancy by sexual orientation has been estimated by the ONS.

The analysis used responses collected during the 2021 census, which included a voluntary question on s£xual orientation for people aged 16 and over.

As only people aged 16 and above were asked the s£xu@l orientation question in the census, life expectancy has been estimated from age 20.

The ONS said its findings were based on large samples with consistent patterns across age groups and previous research.

But it added it could not say from the analysis if s£xual orientation is a ‘contributing risk factor’ for shorter life expectancy.

The data also suggested that life expectancy for 20-year-olds identifying as gay or lesbian is an additional 59.3 years for men and 62.8 years for women, lower than the equivalent figures for heterosexuals (60.7 and 64.0 years respectively).

For those identifying as bisexual, the estimates are an additional 59.6 years for men and 62.9 years for women – again, lower than the figures for people identifying as straight.

Greg Ceely, ONS head of population life events, said: ‘For the first time, we have looked at how life expectancy can differ by s£xual orientation.

‘It shows people who identified as gay or lesbian had a slightly lower life expectancy than those identifying as straight or heteros£xual.

‘Life expectancy can be impacted by a range of factors, so we can’t tell from this analysis whether s£xual orientation is the driver of the difference seen.’