International Mens’ Health Week 2021

This week is International Mens’ Health Week. A week where we raise awareness surrounding the health issues men face, the possible causes of poor health, and encourage them to make changes that will better their health.

Fast Forward volunteer Rayana Mohammed, gives her thoughts in this blog.

For many of us it may not come as a surprise that men are less likely to seek medical advice early on and by the time the visit their doctor, they have often developed a more serious condition.

We may joke about how we never hear the end of it when the men in our lives are unwell but for many men, this may be the only time they communicate how they are feeling regarding their health. Their health is usually the last thing they worry about and often feel that if they can work then their health is fine.

There are a couple of conditions and risk factors that disproportionately affect men more than they do women. These will be the topic of this post, with any suggestions on how to improve these outcomes also provided.

Please note that this is not a comprehensive list, it is simply an overview of the larger health issues men face. Mens’ health is complex and person specific.

Mental Health and Suicide

Societal and gender norms put a lot of pressure on men to be as strong as they can be and mocks those who show any signs of weakness. This may cause them to bottle up their emotions and issues, often leaving them feeling depressed, lonely, and vulnerable. It therefore comes as no surprise to me, that men are then 3 times more likely to take their own lives than women are.

Loneliness perpetuates this reality of feeling sad and vulnerable. It affects an individual’s confidence and self-esteem, possibly due to being unable to make and keep deep relationships. Loneliness, like all other mental health issues, has varying degrees – some it may not affect them at all, while for others it can be very debilitating and ends up being all they can think about.

Depression was once thought of as a condition that only really affected women. This isn’t the case.

Men may be less likely to show their emotion and hide how they feel. While women may be more likely to show their sadness and cry, men tend to get angry and find other ways of dealing with their emotions that can usually result in other health issues.

Normalising men talking about their emotions and feelings with other men or any other person they feel comfortable doing so with seems like a great option for battling mental health issues among men.

As a woman, I tend to voice my feelings and concerns as much as I can, and I see great benefit in this. Sometimes I don’t even talk to someone else, I journal to simply release anything that may be occupying my mind. Normalising this kind of coping mechanism among men may help to reduce the number of mental health issues they experience and hopefully reduce the number of suicides.

Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases

This was new to me, but 1 in 10 men have diabetes and are 40% more likely to die prematurely compared to women.

Almost 90% of diabetics have type II diabetes which is more commonly known to be caused by a person’s lifestyle, with factors such as being a smoker, being overweight and having a sedentary lifestyle increasing the chances of developing this condition. These factors, as well as the development of diabetes itself, increase the chances of suffering from heart disease – the leading cause of male deaths.

Atherosclerosis has been found to develop earlier in men and boys compared to women and girls, with health experts relating this to the latter’s naturally higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, also known as good cholesterol.

Therefore, it seems even more important for men to make better lifestyle choices that will improve their health. This includes not smoking, staying physically active by getting at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity in a day, eating a healthier diet, checking their cholesterol levels and blood pressure more regularly.

Cancers

 Prostate and lung cancer are the main cancers men are diagnosed with.

The former tends to have a hereditary aspect to it with those with close family members who have this cancer being 2.5 time more likely to develop it themselves. This cancer is also diagnosed late, a result of not seeking medical advice as early as possible. Screening is very important, not only is it able to identify serious conditions, but it is also able to identify cancers that may not be fatal.

Lung cancer tends to cause damage quickly and quietly. It has the capability of spreading very far even before it is visible through screening.

Unfortunately, there are no screening programmes available for these cancers, so the responsibility tends to fall on the individual to request this service. As we know, men rarely visit their GPs until it is too late, so these cancers are often detected in their later stages resulting in increased mortality.

Ideally, programmes should be created, just like the breast and cervical cancer screening programmes that are available to women once they reach a certain age.

All in all, men’s health is not something that is given the attention it deserves. It is complex with varying degrees of severity, causes and treatments.

It may be all well and good to educate men on the health risks that may affect them, but if no action is taken by them and no support is given to them, this provision of information can often feel redundant, as knowledge often requires action or change.

This change may need to come from men themselves and/ or society. Proving safe spaces for men to explore their health issues and to be vulnerable will improve not only their lives, but the lives of those around them. Creating programmes and facilities that function to improve their health are extremely necessary for a reduction in the health issues they face.

It should not only be an individual’s issue to resolve. We all must work together to keep each other accountable and aware of this issue beyond this Men’s Health Week.

Resources

https://ben.org.uk/our-services/health-and-wellbeing/top-searches/mens-health/

https://www.webmd.com/men/features/6-top-health-threats-men#1

https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2819%2931609-5

 

Rayana Mohammed