At every age, American men have poorer health and a higher risk of death than women, according to a University of Michigan report published in the American Journal of Public Health.
"Men have higher age-adjusted death rates than women for the 15 leading causes of death in the United States, with the exception of Alzheimer's disease," said David R. Williams, a research at U-M Institute for Social Research. "And both black and white men have death rates at least twice as high as women for accidents, suicide, cirrhosis of the liver, and homicide."
Although all men are doing poorly in terms of health, Dr. Williams noted that men with low incomes and educations, minority men with low incomes and educations, and middle-class African American men are at especially high risk.
Risk Factors
According to Dr. Williams, many factors contribute to men having higher health risks, including poor working conditions and social status and the way they cope with stress, such as drinking or using drugs and other damaging behaviors. Men also are less likely to protect their health.
Compared to women, for example, men are more likely to smoke cigarettes and twice as likely to consume five or more drinks of alcohol in one day, he noted.
"Beliefs about masculinity and manhood that are deeply rooted in culture and supported by social institutions play a role in shaping the behavior patterns of men in ways that have negative consequences for their health," Dr. Williams said. "Men are socialized to project strength, individuality, autonomy, dominance, stoicism, and physical aggression, and to avoid demonstrations of emotion or vulnerability that could be construed as weakness."
Dr. Williams called for increasing awareness of health challenges men face as the first step in closing the gender gap in health. |
