June 13th through 19th this year is International Men’s Health Week. This week encourages men to take care of their mental and physical health, along with bringing awareness to health issues that disproportionately affect men.
Health Risks for Men
Alcohol abuse
Studies have shown that men will drink and/or binge drink twice as often than women. This puts men at higher risk of being addicted to the substance, being infertile, developing liver diseases or cancer, and other disorders that are life-threatening. According to the CDC, “In 2019, 7% of men had an alcohol use disorder compared with 4% of women.”
Cancer
Men tend to be more susceptible to different variants of cancer including skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, color cancer, etc. According to the National Cancer Institute, “The cancer mortality rate is higher among men than women (189.5 per 100,000 men and 135.7 per 100,000 women). When comparing groups based on race/ethnicity and sex, cancer mortality is highest in African American men (227.3 per 100,000) and lowest in Asian/Pacific Islander women (85.6 per 100,000).”
Depression and Suicide
Unfortunately due to societal expectations, men’s mental health is overlooked far too often. Men are greatly affected by a variety of mental disorders and depression. According to MindWise Innovations, “Nearly 1 in 10 men experience depression and anxiety: According to a poll of 21,000 American men by researchers at the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), nearly one in ten men reported experiencing some form of depression or anxiety, but less than half sought treatment.”
It’s okay to not be okay. If you or someone you love is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline 800-273-8255.
Diabetes
Men are more susceptible to diabetes than women, diabetes can cause heart disease, ED, mood disorders, etc. According to America’s Health Rankings, “Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, nontraumatic lower-limb amputations and blindness among adults. In 2018, 34.1 million adults were estimated to have diabetes, 26.8 million of which were diagnosed and 7.3 million were undiagnosed.”
Heart disease
Men are more prone to a variety of heart-related diseases compared to women. Men are also more susceptible to strokes, irregular blood pressure, heart attacks, etc. According to the CDC:
• “Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in the United States, killing 357,761 men in 2019—that’s about 1 in every 4 male deaths.
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, including African Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Hispanics, and whites. For Asian American or Pacific Islander men, heart disease is second only to cancer.
• About 1 in 13 (7.7%) white men and 1 in 14 (7.1%) black men have coronary heart disease. About 1 in 17 (5.9%) Hispanic men have coronary heart disease.
• Half of the men who die suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms. Even if you have no symptoms, you may still be at risk for heart disease.”