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Nudging the men in your life to better health
For whatever reasons, men can be reluctant to take of themselves, especially when it comes to regular doctor visits, preventive care, and making those dreaded lifestyle changes. I’ve found it helps to have a partner whose health I’m concerned about – a sort of “we’re in this together” element – but anyone with men they care about can help push them along. Our health, after all, has a ripple effect on those around us and we can ease their minds at the same time we ease our own.
From the CDA Press:
Men’s health issues don’t affect only men. They can significantly impact everyone around them. Women live longer than men, and consequently they see their fathers, brothers, sons, and husbands suffer or die prematurely. From the moment a male is born, statistics show that, on average, he will live a shorter life span than his female counterpart by about five years. Why? Males have higher rates in 12 of the 15 leading causes of death, many of which are preventable. Men need physical exams every year after the age of 40, (not for prostate exams and Viagra) but to prevent heart attacks, stroke, stress related illness and cancer. These diseases can be prevented if caught early enough. If the men in your life are reluctant to get their annual physical exams or avoid getting medical attention, the following approaches may help: • Appeal to his competitive side and his need to be at the top of the hierarchy. Whether it being the head of the household or the CEO of a company, good health means he can continue to be top dog and will be around for a long time. • Find out whether he is more comfortable seeing a male or female health care provider and make sure he’s seeing the one he prefers. Be sure they are the type of physician that inspires rather than scolds or he will never want to go back. Continue reading]]> -
Psychiatrist comes out after 40 years
I knew I was gay as a small child, officially came out at 16, and would consider myself as having never been in. But I know it’s difficult for a lot of people, and coming out later in life has its own struggles (as opposed to, say, coming out in high school in a small Indiana city, circa 1976).
From ABC News:
Growing up in the Iowa farm belt, Dr. Loren Olson always thought of himself as “heterosexual, with a little quirk.”
He wondered why he had to work so hard at masculinity and attributed his feelings of being a “man-imposter” to the death of his father in a tractor accident when he was 3.
Olson went on to have a satisfying 18-year marriage and two daughters but, inside, he always knew something wasn’t quite right. He describes “always editing my behavior and thoughts.” But long after many men acknowledge their sexual orientation, he came out after the age of 40.
In his new book, “Finally Out: Letting Go of Living Straight,” Olson, now 68 and semi-retired psychiatrist, examines the lives of closeted gay men, many of whom have sex with other men but deny they are homosexual.
“These men lead hidden lives and that’s a very lonely place to be,” he said. “They feel like they are one secret away from losing everything they love.” Olson describes it as “a kind of sexual purgatory,” and many turn to drugs and alcohol for solace.
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Being a man can be hazardous to your health
Men and women are different in a lot of ways, that’s pretty self-evident, and some of the differences are unhealthy. For instance, men socialize in different ways and deal with stress more destructively, such as drinking too much or smoking. It’s not enough to make me wish I wasn’t a man, but at this age it’s time to really pay attention to these things. I’d rather have another year than another cocktail.
From Times Live:
Men, here is what you can do to improve your odds and your health.
On June 22, science and tech magazine New Scientist reported that around 630,000 men die between the ages of 15 and 64 in Europe, compared with 300,000 women of the same age. Trends are similar in the US as well. Why? Experts cite bad lifestyle habits, such as smoking, drinking, and eating less healthfully, for example. Plus Alan White, lead author of The State of Men’s Health in Europe, published in July, told New Scientist that because men are socialised differently, they tend to react in more destructive ways when they find things difficult, such as becoming stressed, smoking, and drinking more. A big problem White cites is that many men lack services that could really come to their aid, such as health clinics open at times other than daytime working hours, or sporting activities available to men who work off-hours, such as restaurant workers or late-night taxi drivers, he said. If you’re male and have been neglecting your health, the first step is to start taking a personal interest in your health, especially preventative health, and then schedule an appointment with a doctor for a full physical examination. Talk about long-term health problems with your doctor, no matter how embarrassing or private, and be sure to ask questions about what tests and screenings are appropriate for your age, writes health website HealthDay.
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Higher waistlines mean higher health risk for men
This one’s on my mind, since I’m on a mission to lost 20 pounds. My waistline, while it will never be 34” again (and frankly that’s okay with me) has been pushing the “danger zone” of 40 for the last few years.
From Health.com:
MONDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) — Men can gain significant health benefits from watching their waist size and, if necessary, losing some flab around the middle, the American Dietetic Association says. “Just as it’s important to know your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and weight numbers, men need to know their waist circumference. So, get out the tape measure,” registered dietitian and ADA spokesman Jim White said in an ADA news release. For an average male, a waistline of 40 inches puts him into the “disease-risk zone,” the experts warned. Excess abdominal fat, as opposed to fat elsewhere on the body, increases men’s risk for health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer. This fat around internal organs is known as visceral fat. [emphasis mine]]]> -
Danish men fatter, sicker, dead sooner than EU counterparts
This isn’t exactly for the ‘fun and quirky’ news section, but it caught my eye.
From the Copenhagen News:
Danish men are among the least healthy Europeans, according to a new EU health report. They have higher incidences of cancer and diabetes and shorter life spans than more than half of all EU men. According to a Danish doctor who helped author the report, typically ‘masculine’ behaviours are a big reason for the low standard of health.
“The most alarming result from the report is that we just don’t stand where we should in regard to the incidence of cancer. Cancer is now our most frequent cause of death,” Svend Aage Madsen, chief psychologist at Rigshospitalet, told Berlingske newspaper. ”The diseases are being detected too late and mortality is higher than in other countries. It looks bad throughout Europe, but especially bad in Denmark.”
[SNIP]
In general, the report found that men throughout Europe are in worse health than women. They overate more, exercised less and waited too long to seek medical help when health problems arose.
According to the report’s authors, many of the reasons behind the trend are related to gender roles. Men, for example, tended to wait longer than women before they went to see the doctor and were less likely to follow the doctors’ orders once they got a diagnosis.
Madsen explained that masculine roles and cultural traditions played a big part in men’s diseases and shorter life spans. While, for example, it has long been acceptable for women to focus on their physical symptoms – an awareness honed through childcare responsibilities – such focus on self-care was long stigmatised for men, who were supposed to be tough hunters and warriors.]]> -
Majority of men neglecting doctor visits, putting health at risk
I confess: I don’t go to the doctor unless I’m seriously worried, with the exception of an annual checkup – although the last one was more like a year and a half. It’s amazing how time flies when you’re not being poked and probed. I have a tendency to telescope time and think I was just at the eye doctor’s a few months ago when it’s really been a year.
Experts from Men’s Health Magazine claim that over half of adult men are neglecting doctor visits, especially preventive care. I’ll try to do better.
From NY1.com: According to the experts at Men’s Health Magazine, more than half of American men haven’t been to the doctor in the past year, and when they do go it is usually not for preventive care. “Men, in general, don’t like to go the doctor for the same reason they don’t like to ask for directions, which is that they like to feel like they’re autonomous and they don’t want anybody telling them what to do,” says Stephene Perrine, editor-at-large for Men’s Health. There are five key reasons why men should consider getting to a doctor now, Perrine says. The most important may be heart disease, which is the number one killer of all Americans. Men in particular have a greater risk of heart attack, as well. “This year, about a half a million men over the age of 35 are gonna suffer heart attacks and heart disease,” says Perrine. “The most common symptom of heart disease is death. Often we have no clue that we have any sort of heart problem until our first heart attack, and it is often fatal, so it is critical that men are going to the doctor for preventative visits.”
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Daily acetaminophen and brisk walks a benefit in lowering prostate cancer risk
Researchers have discovered that taking Tylenol every day, combined with a brisk walk, can significantly lower a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer.
From Time.com:
Pop a Tylenol and take a brisk walk for protection against prostate cancer? That’s what the findings of two new studies published this week suggest.
In the first study, published Monday in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, scientists found that men who took a daily dose of acetaminophen (Tylenol) for five years had a 38% lower risk of developing prostate cancer, compared with other men. Additionally, daily acetaminophen was associated with a 51% reduced risk of developing an aggressive form of the disease. Men who took acetaminophen for less than five years saw no protective benefit.
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New York City creates hospital training video on LGBT health issues
I reported yesterday that New York City hospitals are providing training on issues facing LGBT patients. Their training video is out, and it’s superb.]]>
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Institute of Health seeks more data on LGBT patients
From the News Journal: Finding a doctor they’re comfortable with is a quest that many gay men face, said Seeley, program director of CAMPsafe, the HIV/AIDS prevention program of CAMP Rehoboth, an organization serving gays and lesbians. “It’s challenging for gay men to let doctors know that they’re gay,” he said. “But we need to disclose this.” Doctors don’t have much to go by. Comprehensive data on the particular health needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people — also referred to as the LGBT population — are scarce. So scarce, said the Institute of Medicine in a recent report, that researchers must start aggressively reaching out to the LGBT population to draw them into health studies. They say that will help doctors get a more precise snapshot of the types of health problems LGBT patients face. Continue reading]]>
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Power-lifting seniors find a home in a California garage
From the Los Angeles Times:
A huge weight was lifted off the shoulders of a group of Chatsworth athletes when Bob Evans opened up his garage to them. The half a dozen veterans of a lifetime of muscle building found themselves without a place to work out two years ago when their friend Kevin Meskew was forced to close the fitness center where they all congregated twice each week. The power-lifters — most in their 60s and 70s — discovered that health clubs filled with young people doing aerobics and Pilates and taking spinning classes were wary of senior citizens coming in and hoisting 500-pound barbells over their heads. That’s when Evans shoved his tools and storage boxes to the side of his three-car garage on Shamrock Place and invited the oldsters in to flex their muscles. “When the gym closed, we decided to do it ourselves,” explained Harry Packer, a 76-year-old retired mortgage broker who lives in Porter Ranch and pumps iron despite undergoing triple-bypass surgery last year. Evans, 64, a retired computer analyst, has lifted weights since he was 15. So he didn’t hesitate when someone suggested that his garage might make a perfect workout room.]]> -
Higher cancer rates reported among gay men
From Yahoo News: WASHINGTON (AFP) – A large study in California released Monday found that cancer may be nearly twice as prevalent among gay men as among straight men. The study relied on self-reported data from the California Health Interview survey, the largest state survey of its kind in the United States, and included more than 120,000 people over three years: 2001, 2003 and 2005. A total of 3,690 men reported a cancer diagnosis as adults. Gay men were 1.9 times as likely as straight men to have been diagnosed with cancer, said the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Cancer. There was no such difference witnessed among lesbian and straight women, but gay and bisexual females were twice as likely to say they were in fair or poor health after a cancer diagnosis compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Lead author Ulrike Boehmer of the Boston University School of Public Health said the data can help guide services for the gay community. “Because more gay men report as cancer survivors, we need foremost programs for gay men that focus on primary cancer prevention and early cancer detection,” she said.
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