Men’s health is now increasingly being recognised as a key area of concern for health professionals and policy makers. However, until recently, an overview of men’s health across the European countries has been lacking. A study into the state of men’s health in 17 different European countries undertaken for the European Men’s Health Forum fills the gap says
Alan White, one of the report's authors…
Our study highlights, in a way that has not been possible previously, the precarious nature of men’s health across developed nations. The extent of premature mortality and morbidity for each individual health issue has been well reported, but this study provides the first comprehensive picture of the state of men’s health in Europe.
The survey covered 15 European Union countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Luxem-bourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) along with Norway and Switzerland. The overall conclusions for the study are:
- Health is gendered – there are clear and unambiguous differences between men and women’s health. Within the 17 countries, there were a total of 190,500,000 men, with 9,500,000 more women than men. In 1999, there were approximately 500,000 more female than male deaths; however, below the age of 75 almost twice as many male deaths occurred, when compared to women. This suggests that there is a definite age differential with more men dying prematurely than women.
- There are wide variations in health between the countries included in this study. There were, for example, clear geographical differences for some disease states, the most notable being cardiovascular disease, with the northern countries having far higher rates of death than the southern countries for ischaemic heart disease, although the trend is not as clear cut for cerebrovascular accidents. Some of these differences are very marked. For example in Finland deaths due to suicide account for nearly 4% of all male deaths; in Greece the proportion is 0.6%. There are also differing age profiles. For the majority of countries it is the older male who has the highest rate of suicide, but for Finland and Ireland there are far higher rates of suicide in the younger population.
- Health is improving for many conditions, but there are still marked inequalities that exist, both between countries and between men and women.
There are four main implications of this study. First is the need to disaggregate health data to be able to determine the effect of gender on health issues. Second it is essential that healthcare practitioners and policy makers recognise that healthcare planning and delivery must target men and women in a way that more closely reflects their needs. Third is to answer the question as to why men are at greater risk of the majority of the main disease states than women. And finally, how, within Europe, can we achieve greater equity in the health status between countries and between genders?
The European Men’s Health Forum exists to help all of us working in men’s health to realise these tasks. This scoping study was a necessary preparatory step.
Alan White PhD is Senior Lecturer in Nursing at Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK, a member of the EMHF's Board of Directors and Chair of the Trustees of the MHF England and Wales.
Related links:
Men's Health Forum
Read Alan's article in the World Congress on Men's Health newsletter
