Men’s Health: Poor prevention a danger for the “stronger” sex

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A month of free checkups has encouraged the "stronger sex" toward better health.

Statistically, men may earn twice as much as women and have much greater opportunities in life than the ‘weaker sex’, but medical specialists say it isn’t at all a man’s world in Armenia as far as health is concerned.

According to Armenia’s chief urologist, despite various myths about men’s health and their being the ‘strongest of the two sexes’, men are incomparably weaker than women, less adaptable, they live shorter lives, get sick more quickly, are twice as likely to get into accidents and four times as likely to commit suicide.

In fact, those in the medical field agree that men’s chance of good health is aggravated because men are more subject to stress and various health hazards, related to their role as “breadwinners”.

According to data of the National Statistical Service summarized in the Women and Men in Armenia 2005 yearbook, men in Armenia are expected to live six years less than women (70 to 76); they have a higher mortality rate across all age groups (13,248 deaths of men against 12,431 deaths of women per 100,000 population); the morbidity rate among men is higher than among women both in grave diseases, including the two biggest killers – cardio-vascular diseases and cancer, as well as in such diseases as tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and mental disorders.

Ironically, according to the subjective assessment presented in the yearbook, on the whole, men assess their health more optimistically than women, with 70 percent of them assessing it as ‘very good’ or ‘good’ against 64 percent of women giving similar answers. Only 9.3 percent of men in Armenia consider their health condition as ‘not very good’ or ‘bad’.

On the one hand, the reason for the strong statistics about men’s health is that men don’t go to doctors as often. “Of course, due to his nature a man would ignore many health risks, but there is a wrong idea among many men in Armenia that it would be a shame to consult a doctor if they have some problems with health. Because of the mentality ‘I am a man, I’ll overcome this’ very often men turn to doctors at late stages of their disease, which complicates the treatment process,” says Andranik Voskanyan, chief pulmonologist of Armenia.

On the other hand, when they do have to see the doctor, the statistics are also not in favor of men, especially when it comes to mental health. Statistics for 2004 (the latest available) show that among first-time diagnosed patients with mental disorders, 72.4 percent were men and 27.6 percent were women.

Senior lecturer of the Chair of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology of the Yerevan State Medical University, candidate of medical sciences Armen Melik-Pashayan says the morbidity rate in disorders such as schizophrenia is stable all over the world -- 0.9 to 2 percent -- and is equally spread among men and women.

But Melik-Pashayan says the considerable difference in the percentage of diagnosed patients among men and women may also be the result of the fact that men more frequently pass compulsory examinations, such as, for example, in connection with army conscription.

Heavy smoking and drinking are not uncommon among Armenian men. According to recent surveys, about 60 percent of adult men in Armenia smoke; some 17 percent of adult men admit they drink regularly, and some 11 percent admit they have a drinking problem. Specialists say these habits, which border on dependence, make men more vulnerable to lung cancer and heart diseases. Statistics show that men die more often from heart attacks than women.

Director of the Speliotherapy Center Andranik Voskanyan says that unlike women, who have a higher asthma rate, men suffer more from bronchial-lung diseases.

According to Voskanyan, smoking is one of the factors causing bronchial-lung diseases especially among ‘able-bodied’ men, but he says that stress is the stronger factor affecting the health of the whole male population in Armenia, which is similar to the situation with men’s health in other developing countries.

Even though men are generally blamed for higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases, Armen Muradyan, who heads the Urology Clinic at the “Armenia” Republican Medical Center says it is wrong to only blame men and migration.

“Venereal diseases have been and will be in every open society that has no artificial borders such as religion, strict traditions, and others,” he says. “There is migration in every country and it shouldn’t be linked to the current situation (only) in Armenia.”

According to statistical data, the morbidity rate in gonorrhea among men is considerably higher than among women in all age groups (74.7 percent versus 25.3 percent). 63.6 percent of syphilis patients aged above 40 are men, but the percentage of male syphilis patients is less in the age group 18-39.

Statistics show that men are also affected to a greater degree by HIV/AIDS.

According to the RA National Center for AIDS Prevention, the estimated number of people living with HIV in the country is about 2800-3000, but this statistic is a projection and is not broken down by gender.

From 1988 to 2006, 429 HIV cases were registered in Armenia among the country’s citizens. The number of males with HIV is three times as high as the number of females.

Muradyan says the role of women in the prevention of diseases common to men is great.

Every year Republican Medical Center holds a Men’s Health Month action during which up to 1,000 men get free medical examinations. Muradyan says that 75 percent of men who came for a checkup last year did so at their wives’ advice.

“The key to men’s health is in women’s hands. Not only in Armenia, but also worldwide, men are less concerned with their health,” Muradyan says.

According to Muradyan, state support is particularly praiseworthy in programs aimed at preserving men’s health. Specifically, he says that this year the Ministry of Health will also involve the regions in the annual Men’s Health Month.

“I think it is the right approach. Artists, sportsmen must come forward to show to other men that health and healthy lifestyle are important,” Muradyan says. “Even if our action saves one life, I will consider it successful.”