Men care more about cars than their health because of 'big boys don't cry' syndrome, new survey shows

Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 8:14 AM on 13th June 2011

 

Nearly 70% of men find it easier to care for their cars than they do their personal health, a new national survey shows.

Some men may be ignoring symptoms of treatable health conditions and don’t visit their doctors sometimes for as long as six months to a year after experiencing disease symptoms.

Scott Williams, vice president of Men’s Health Network [MHN], said the statistics are scary, considering that many diseases can be treated before they get out of hand.

MHN commissioned the national online survey with partner Abbott Laboratories. It included 501 men ages 45 to 65 and 501 of their spouses or significant others to see just how pro-active men are when it comes to dealing with health matters.

The results confirmed what men’s health experts have thought for some time: men are in denial.

Mr Williams attributes the mindset to societal values that condition boys to 'tough it out' in the face of injury.

'When a boy is five years old and skins his knee, he’s told that big boys don’t cry,' he said.

Fast forward to adulthood and chest pain evokes the same dismissive reaction, he says. 

Dr Harry Fisch, urologist and clinical professor of medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College, said: 'At age 40, the body begins to change and men are past the maintenance-free years.'

That is why MHN has been trying to heighten awareness of preventable health problems and encouraging early detection.

In 1994 Congress established Men’s Health Week, which was signed into law by former President Bill Clinton and celebrated each year the week leading up to and including Father's Day.

MHN’s T-Talk Tune-up manual includes Dr Fisch’s yearly medical test recommendations which include cholesterol, blood pressure, prostate and testicular exams and a blood test that determines a man’s testosterone level.

Women also play a part. More than 40 per cent of the respondent’s significant others reported they are worried about their partner’s health.

And 56 per cent of women worry more about their partner’s health than their own, foxbusiness.com reports.

Mr Williams said that is largely because women tend to be responsible for their family’s care and will seek out preventive care more often than men.

A 2001 Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey reports the rate of doctor visits for annual examinations and preventive services was 100% higher for women than for men.

While cholesterol and blood pressure, and even a prostate exam, are more commonly talked about when it comes to maintaining men’s health, a regular testosterone level check-up tends to be neglected.

Low testosterone affects nearly 14 million men in the U.S., mainly those aged 45 and older, and it may be overlooked because the symptoms are subtle and similar to those caused by other medical conditions.

Although Low testosterone has usually been thought to be associated with diminished sex drive, current thinking is that it is a window to general health.

While it can lead to sexual dysfunction, decreased sexual desire, and low sperm count, it is also associated with decreased muscle mass and strength, loss of body hair, and decreased bone mineral density or increased body fat.

Dr Fisch says that men exhibiting the symptoms and men with conditions that place them at increased risk – such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, erectile dysfunction and HIV/AIDS – should consider speaking to their doctor.

He also says erectile dysfunction can precede heart disease by three to five years.

Though this may vary, he recommends a cardiac stress test, a carotid echocardiogram and a calcium CT score of the heart vessels in men with these symptoms.

While testosterone levels can decline with age, not every man will have low testosterone, and not all who do will need treatment, which currently includes regular injections, a patch, or more recently, a gel. 

 

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