Health & beauty
Men's health
Introduction
The male body is like a car. Give it the right fuel and regular servicing, and it should give years of faithful service.
In this report we explain some of the common health issues that affect men, and give advice on the periodic maintenance that can help avoid problems.
The heart
If your body is a car, then the heart is the engine. Men are more likely to die of heart trouble than women. Roughly 40 percent of men will die from cardiovascular disease, which includes atherosclerosis, heart attack, heart failure, angina, stroke and other conditions.
Symptoms
Many heart problems have similar symptoms. For example, the symptoms of angina are pain or discomfort in the chest - and possibly in the neck, lower jaw, arm, or between the shoulder blades.
The same symptoms are typical of a heart attack. However, heart failure often appears as breathlessness, muscle fatigue, or swelling of the ankles. Numbness or tingling of arms and legs are also common symptoms that the heart is struggling. Many people with heart conditions don't recognise the symptoms or dismiss them as something else.
Causes and risk factors
Some risk factors you can fix and some you can't. Age, sex, ethnicity, and family history are things you can't change. But five common causes of heart disease are things you can change - diet, smoking, alcohol, stress, and a sedentary lifestyle. These all contribute to high cholesterol, a leading cause of heart disease. A family history of heart disease increases risk, as do other medical conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Preventive maintenance
Things you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease include eating a well-balanced diet, exercising regularly, and avoiding excessive alcohol consumption. Smoking should be avoided too. Good management of other health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure will also help. These measures will help maintain a healthy weight, reduce cholesterol, and be of overall benefit to your heart.
Check-ups
Men should have a cardiovascular risk assessment from the age of 45. The assessment will be given by your GP or practice nurse. It measures cholesterol and blood pressure as well as assessing risk factors like diabetes, smoking, and family history.
Men with high risk factors should have a risk assessment from the age of 35. With this information, doctors can assess the risk of heart attack and advise medication and lifestyle changes.
Age of onset
Most common in older men.
Cancer
Having your engine running in good order doesn't prevent you from getting rust - that is, cancer. Men have a slightly lower chance of developing cancer than women, but 29 percent will eventually succumb to a fatal cancer. The cancers killing the most men are lung and bowel cancers, although there are serious men-only cancers such as prostate and testicular cancers.
Lung cancer
The cancer that kills the most men (around six percent of all men) is lung cancer. Lung cancer treatments aren't very successful - fewer than 10 percent of men who are diagnosed with it live more than 5 years. Prevention is the key.
Symptoms
Persistent cough, coughing up blood, breathlessness, and chest pains.
Causes and risk factors
Up to 90 percent of lung cancer results from smoking. Exposure to asbestos, steel, nickel, chrome, and coal-gas processing may also increase your risk.
Preventive maintenance
Stop smoking. And if you haven't started, don't. Wear a mask around dangerous substances.
Check-ups
If you have symptoms, a doctor is likely to recommend a chest x-ray, biopsy, and scan.
Age of onset
Lung cancer is most common in men aged 40 to 70 who have been smoking for at least 20 years.
Bowel cancer
The second-most fatal cancer in men is bowel cancer, which affects the colon or rectum. Early detection improves the chances of successful treatment. Bowel cancer kills around 600 men a year - four percent of all male deaths.
Symptoms
Prolonged constipation or diarrhoea for more than 10 days, blood or mucus in faeces, and paleness and tiredness from anaemia.
Causes and risk factors
Still largely unknown. May include family history, other hereditary conditions, and a diet high in meat and fat but low in fibre.
Preventive maintenance
Eat a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly.
Check-ups
If you have a family history of bowel problems, or suspect you have a higher-than-average risk, consult your GP.
Age of onset
90 percent of cases occur in men aged 50 years and older.
Prostate cancer
While most prostate problems are not cancer, prostate cancer is the most common male cancer. It also kills around 600 (4 percent) men a year.
Symptoms
Problems urinating are the common symptoms of both prostate enlargement and prostate cancer. You may have trouble starting or trouble stopping, or the flow may be weak. Urinating more frequently is also common, especially at night. Unfortunately, the early stages of prostate cancer often cause no physical symptoms; by the time symptoms are obvious, it has spread to other parts of the body and is incurable.
Causes and risk factors
The exact cause of prostate cancer - like that of many cancers - is unknown. There appears to be a genetic component: men face an increased risk of developing prostate cancer if an immediate male relative has had the condition.
Preventive maintenance
No specific measures, but eat a well-balanced diet, exercise regularly, avoid excessive alcohol, and don't smoke.
Check-ups
Regular PSA blood tests and digital rectal examinations can reveal changes in your prostate. The next step is usually a biopsy, to check for cancer.
Age of onset
Prostate cancer occurs more often in older men - 80 percent of cases are found in men over 65. It's rare in men under the age of 50.
Prostate health
The prostate is a sex gland that sits at the base of the bladder and surrounds the urethra (the tube going from the bladder and sex glands to the penis). Men typically have problems with their prostate in later life. Most prostate problems are not cancer. Nine out of 10 men with prostate problems have prostate enlargement.
Testicular cancer and other disorders
A surprising number of things can go wrong with your testicles - fortunately most of them are not serious. Disorders include swelling of the testicles, inflammation, and twisting of a testicle within the scrotum. All of these are readily treatable.
Testicular cancer is rare and accounts for only one percent of all cancers in men. It's the most common cancer in men aged 20 to 35 and is extremely rare in older men. If detected early, 90 percent of testicular cancers can be cured. An ultrasound may be necessary for accurate diagnosis.
Symptoms
The testicle can change in size, shape or firmness. Pain may or may not be present.
Causes and risk factors
No one knows exactly why this cancer develops. Boys with an undescended testicle are five times more likely to develop testicular cancer, and family history may play a part as well.
Preventive maintenance
Self-examination is the most common way of finding an abnormality. Any changes in the testicles should be discussed with your doctor.
Check-ups
After examination, your GP may send you for an ultrasound or biopsy.
Age of onset
Testicular cancer can affect men of any age, but is more likely between the ages of 20 and 35.
Erectile dysfunction
While erectile dysfunction may not be fatal, it can sure feel like it - the starter motor just won't get up and running. Virtually all men will experience erectile dysfunction (impotence) at some stage, usually as a temporary reaction to stress, anxiety, fatigue, or alcohol consumption.
Impotence is often easily treated. Treatments include medication, injections, hormone replacement therapy, exercises, relationship counselling, stress reduction, and vacuum therapy, among others.
Symptoms
Self-explanatory.
Causes and risk factors
Medical conditions such as depression and problems with blood flow caused by diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, or blood pressure can cause impotence. It can also be a side effect of medications used to treat these disorders.
Preventive maintenance
Eat a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly. Maintaining good general health means you're less likely to suffer a condition that causes impotence.
Check-ups
Self-explanatory.
Age of onset
Impotence is more common in older men, often because they're more likely to have illnesses or take medications that cause impotence. A large US study estimated that 52 percent of men would suffer from impotence, ranging from 40 percent at age 40 up to 70 percent at age 70.
Men's health checklist
The good news
The good news is that the male body is designed to last a long time. Over 60 percent of men will last beyond 70 years of age, and over 30 percent will make it past 80, and those numbers have been steadily increasing over the years. So your body could well last even longer.
The key to survival is preventive maintenance (lifestyle factors) and early detection: every health issue from melanoma and heart disease to glaucoma and dental cavities benefits from early detection.
Barriers to men's health
It's claimed, rightly or wrongly, that one of the biggest barriers to men's health is ... men.
Men need to treat themselves like their car. If our car has a rattle or vibration, we won't hesitate to jump in, find the problem, spend some money, and fix it before it develops into a bigger problem. Seldom do we do the same with our own bodies, and we aren't replaceable.
Think about it. You may want to give the most important vehicle in your life, your body, a full warrant of fitness. You could also consider a service and valet while you're at it.
More information
- National Heart Foundation
- Ministry of Health
- Cancer Society of NZ
- New Zealand Guidelines Group
- Prostate Cancer Foundation of NZ
Report by Marc Wendelborn.