A report published by The European Commission has highlighted the health of men across Europe. A report led by Professor of Men’s Health, Alan White from Leeds Metropolitan University, highlights men’s health in Europe as being a serious public health concern.
Patterns emerging from data taken from 34 European countries show marked differences in health outcomes among men, both between and within countries. Poor lifestyles and preventable risk factors account for a high share of premature death and illness in men, illustrating that their health disadvantage is not genetic and could, in part, be remedied by targeted policies and actions. Key findings from the report include the fact that, although men are now living longer than at any time in history, the current decline in births means that there will be a huge reduction of men of working age across the EU-27 in the coming decades; over 50% of premature deaths among men are avoidable; men are less likely than women to engage in routine or preventative health checks; even though there have been big reductions in cardiovascular morbidity and death among men, cardio-vascular disease is still one of the biggest risks to health and the principle cause of death in the older population; among men, prostate cancer has become the most diagnosed cancer in Europe; testicular cancer, despite effective treatment, still remains the first cause of cancer death among males aged between 20 and 35 years. Depression in men and other mental health problems are also under detected and under treated in all European countries. This is partly due to men being less likely to seek help.
