It is commonly known that women live longer than men. The life expectancy of American women is 80.2 years against 74.8 for men, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are several reasons why women tend to live longer: men often take greater risksWork more dangerous jobs, have a higher suicide rate, experience more social isolation, avoid doctors and be 50% most likely that women die of heart disease at a younger age.
But recent research also reflects that men are more likely to fall sick with three common diseases – and are less likely to request care for them.
In a study published in the journal Plos medicationResearchers have aggregated health data for men and women in 204 countries for three conditions: hypertension, diabetes and HIV and AIDS. They compared disease rates and differences in diagnosis and treatment, and noted that men had higher disease and mortality rates compared to women – and in certain countries, men were less likely to seek health care and to stick to treatment. This has a double burden for men, who risk a greater risk of disease and mortality, while knowing lower treatment rates.
“Such data can reveal where the health trips of men and women diverge, whether with regard to the risk factors to which they are exposed, their health care research behaviors or their experiences in health care systems,” said Kent Buse and Sarah Hawkes co-authors in a press release. “This is an important first step towards health equity.”
The results
The researchers found that in the three different diseases, the prevalence and mortality rates were often higher in men. In 56% of countries (114), there was a significantly higher prevalence of HIV in men compared to women, and men were more likely than women to die of AIDS in 131 countries (64%).
In more than half of countries (107), mortality rates by hypertension were higher in men, despite the fact that men and women had a similar prevalence of hypertension on a global scale, with the exception of eight countries.
Similar observations have been found for diabetes. Researchers wrote that there were no significant sexual differences in most countries for the prevalence of diabetes, although the rates are higher in 30% of countries. But the mortality of diabetes was significantly higher for men in almost half of the countries (100).
Why some disease and death rates are higher in men
One of the contributory risk factors could be that smoking rates in men are significantly higher than in women in 86% of countries (176) included, researchers noted. But the authors of the study believe that it goes further than that.
“Most of these differences are not explained by sex (biology) alone, but by socially constructed sex – the evolution of the importance of adopting an approach to justice between the sexes to reduce health inequalities,” said Hawkes and Hawkes.
By exploring the potential factors contributing to their results, the authors ask questions like:
“Are men subject to the constructions of masculinities which often discourage prevention and search for care, later presenting themselves in the progression of the disease in health establishments compared to women (and therefore more at risk of mortality of the diagnosed disease)?”
According to the CDCMen is 50% less likely than women to consult a doctor. A survey of the Cleveland clinic found that 65% of men declared to avoid looking for medical care as long as possible, saying that they were too busy, thought that the evils would heal alone and thought it made them look weak.
In addition to the obstacles presented by gender standards, men also seem less informed of signs of warning the disease, according to a study—St consciousness of the symptoms and the importance of early medical intervention being constantly lower in men compared to women.
In addition, the authors speculate that certain causes of death of women are under-declared or poorly attributed.
Overall, the authors put pressure on the greatest gender specific care, as they ask: “Are there biological reasons for which men have a higher death rate of diabetes compared to women-and, in the affirmative, does this justify clinical guidelines for sex?”
They suggest that public health professionals must develop methods that encourage men to seek and respect the prevention and treatment of diseases.
“The absence of gender -sensitive policies in many areas of health leads to gender -based inequalities, from exposure to risks to care cascades that are not adequately addressed in many contexts,” write the authors. “It is necessary to recognize and meet the unique health needs of women, men and people in gender -sensitive interventions if we want to reduce health inequalities throughout the population.”
To learn more about health care and sex:
- 5 symptoms that men over 40 should always take seriously
- Women now drink alcohol as much as men – with even more harmful health effects
- Men can bring these 3 lifestyle changes to improve fertility
- Stigmatization prevents many men from seeking mental health support. These 3 reflection changes can help
This story was initially presented on Fortune.com
