American male citizens suffer from poorer health and die earlier than women, particularly if they’re minorities. It is a health crisis emphasized by a leading medical journal. This issue of the magazine was mainly devoted to the topic of men’s health.
"Men in all socioeconomic levels are doing very little in terms of health," states David R. Williams, PhD, MPH, with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. However, men of color - particularly low-income men - are "in particular susceptible," he claims.
"Sadly, the health status of African American men may serve as the proverbial canary in the coal mine for other poor men in this nation and in our global village," states Henrie M. Treadwell, PhD, a scientist with the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
Other statistics quoted in the American Journal of Public Health include:
* Men reveal higher rates of death than women for fifteen leading causes of death, with the exception of Alzheimer’s disease. Men’s rates of death are at least twice as high for accidents, murder, suicide, and liver problems.
* Men’s life expectancy is constantly almost five years shorter than for women - and black men die almost twelve years earlier than white women.
* Men are somewhat more probable to suffer from high blood pressure or cancer, and twice as probable to consume more than five alcoholic drinks per day.
* Men have a greater chance than women to be imprisoned, homeless, or to use illegal drugs.
* Minority men are more probable to live in poverty. While 17 per cent of white men are not insured, 28 per cent of black men and almost half of Hispanic men have no insurance at all.
Furthermore, women are twice as probable as men to visit a healthcare provider every year. When men do visit a physician, the visits are considerably shorter and are less probable to include advice on lifestyle changes promoting better health.
Williams emphasizes that work environment also takes its toll. Men usually work in more hazardous jobs than women, and men represent 90 per cent of job fatalities. Stressors and adverse emotional states molded by poor working conditions can result in poor sleeping patterns, reduced physical activity, substance abuse, and overeating - all of which adversely influence men’s health.
