June is Men’s Health Month

BY JAMES S. BURKHARDT, D.O.

According to Dr. David Gremillion of Men’s Health Network, “there is a silent health crisis in America… it’s the fact that, on average, American men live sicker and die younger than American women.”

In 1920, women lived, on average, one year longer than men.  Now men die almost six years earlier than women.  Men have higher death rates than women in almost all leading causes of death including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, pneumonia, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), suicide and injuries.  Almost twice as many men as women die from ischemic heart disease and heart attacks.  Nearly 50% more men than women die of lung and colon cancer. 

These facts and statistics are alarming and depressing.  And it is not just the death rates that are so troubling.  More males than females are born (115-110), but by about age 35 women outnumber men.  Of the 9 million elderly people living alone, 80% are women.  More than 1/2 of elderly widows living in poverty were not poor before the death of their husbands.  By age 100, women outnumber men 8-1.  Men are at greater risk of death in every age group.

Now, we can certainly make jokes about who is driving whom to an early grave, but this is obviously a serious problem requiring serious thoughts and action. 

The failure of men to become actively engaged in the health care system takes a toll at early ages, but the trend accelerates as men near retirement.  It is expected that men will enter Medicare in poorer health than women, creating an unequal burden on the health care system.  The effect of poor health habits, adverse socialization, and lack of access to health care is reflected in higher mortality among aging men and the male-female ratio in later years.  This leaves older women more likely to live in poverty and alone, and to rely on public assistance. 

Men are at high risk because:

A higher percentage of men have no healthcare coverage

Men make 1.2 as many physician visits for prevention

Men are employed in the most dangerous occupations, such as mining, fire   fighting, construction, and fishing

Society discourages healthy behaviors in men and boys

Research on male-specific diseases is under funded

Men may have less healthy lifestyles including risk-taking at younger ages

Many men are taught from a young age to cope quietly with pain instead of telling others about their ailments.  Being told, by family or peers, that “big boys don’t cry” over injuries often leads to reluctance to seek medical attention for healthy problems years later.

As inconvenient as it may be, the fact that young women often have to go to a physician for reproductive health issues such as birth control, common infections, or prenatal care means that women are aware of the need to visit a health care provider regularly.  Although doctors suggest that men begin getting annual Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) tests in their forties, men in their twenties can take advantage of free healthy screenings to form good habits and build trust with their physician. 

It is important to establish a relationship with your family doctor.  Over time, your doctor can guide you through screening tests for cancers, blood pressure checks, blood tests for cholesterol and many preventive options.