Abstract
The population of older Americans is growing, as is the population of older Americans who identify as gay or lesbian. It has been estimated that by 2030, one in five Americans will be age 65 or older, with approximately four million of those individuals identifying themselves as gay or lesbian. Even by the most conservative estimates, this indicates that approximately 1.2 to 1.4 million of those individuals will be older gay men. Despite these significant shifts in population, reports show that a more contemporary appraisal of the needs of older gay men is warranted. Additional inquiry into the needs of older gay men was further validated in 2011 by the landmark report released by the Institute of Medicine that called attention to health disparities often encountered by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. In an effort to more fully understand the state of the science related to aging among older gay men, an integrated literature review was conducted. The purpose of this article is to present this literature review of aging among gay men within an established framework that can facilitate and guide further research inquiry.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This review of the literature was conducted as part of a doctoral dissertation.