Men's Health In Crisis

April 29, 2003 -- American men have poorer health and die sooner than women, especially if they're minorities. It is a health crisis highlighted by a leading medical journal, which has devoted most of its May issue to men's health.

"Men in all socioeconomic levels are doing poorly in terms of health," writes David R. Williams, PhD, MPH, with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. However, men of color -- especially low-income men -- are "especially vulnerable," he says.

"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," writes Henrie M. Treadwell, PhD, a researcher with the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

Among other statistics cited in the American Journal of Public Health:

• Men have higher death rates than women for 15 leading causes of death except Alzheimer's disease. Men's death rates are at least twice as high for accidents, murder, suicide, and liver disorders.
• Men's life expectancy remains almost five years shorter than for women -- and black men die almost 12 years sooner than white women.
• Men are slightly more likely to get high blood pressure or cancer, and twice as likely to consume more than five alcoholic drinks a day.
• Men are more likely than women to be imprisoned, homeless, or to use illegal drugs.
• Minority men are more likely to live in poverty. While 17% of white men are uninsured, 28% of black men and almost half of Hispanic men have no insurance.

Also, women are twice as likely as men to visit a doctor each year. When men do see a doctor, the visits are shorter and are less likely to include advice on lifestyle changes that promote better health.

Work environment also takes its toll, Williams points out. Men tend to work in more dangerous jobs than women, and men represent 90% of job fatalities. Stressors and negative emotional states created by poor working conditions can lead to poor sleeping patterns, decreased physical activity, substance abuse, and overeating -- all of which negatively impact men's health.

SOURCE: May 2003 American Journal of Public Health.