Do you suffer from any of these common male health concerns?
Whether it’s heart disease or prostate cancer, liver disease, and cancer, these are the many things that can affect your health, and it’s important for men to know and how they can prevent them from happening.
Men’s health is important for everyone, but men’s healthcare is often overlooked until it becomes too late to do anything about it.
Male health concerns are serious and can lead to death if not treated. Knowing what some of these common issues are is a great way to stay healthy and live longer.
Here are some common male health concerns you should be aware of and give you resources on how to address them:
10 Most common male health concerns
Heart health
Heart disease is one of the biggest male health concerns. According to Male Health News, although heart disease is the primary cause of death for both men and women, significantly more males die from cardiovascular system-related illness than females.
When your arteries become clogged up with plaque, this will eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke if untreated.
Some common causes are high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. These things can be prevented by eating a healthy diet, staying active, and quitting smoking.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), here are some heart disease risk factors:
- Increased age
- Male sex
- Family history and race are both factors. People who have a family history of the disease have a higher risk. African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiian, and Asian Americans are also at an increased chance of developing this condition.
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- High blood cholesterol
- Lack of exercise
- Obesity and overweight
- Diabetes
While many things, such as your age and gender, are beyond our control, changing your lifestyle to eat more healthily and exercise regularly can decrease your risk of heart disease.
Lung Disease
Do you smoke?
If so, you should be aware that lung cancer kills more men and women than any other form of illness.
Even though exposure to occupational hazards such as asbestos raises your risk, smoking is still the most common cause of lung cancer,
A common ‘smoker’s cough’ is the start of many respiratory illnesses. Over time, this cough may develop into potentially fatal diseases such as lung cancer, emphysema, or COPD. All of these issues impact your breathing in some manner.
Here are the following lists as risk factors for lung cancer:
- Second-hand smoke exposure
- Exposure to asbestos or radon
- Family history
- Air pollution
If you want to prevent lung cancer and other respiratory illnesses, the simplest thing you can do is not smoke.
If you have ever smoked, and as soon as you quit smoking, your risk of developing cancer from smoking decreases, and you can help protect your lungs from future damage.
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most prevalent malignant tumour found in males. It is the second most common cancer that kills men, after lung cancer.
There is currently little information available regarding what causes prostate cancer and how to avoid it. However, if diagnosed in the early stages, the illness is curable. Because prostate cancer can show no signs until it has spread to other areas of the body, this might be a struggle.
Risk factors include:
- Increased age
- Nationality. It’s more common in North America and Northwestern Europe.
- High-fat diet. Men who consume a lot of red meat and high-fat dairy products and little fruit and vegetables have an increased risk.
Prostate cancer is more common among older men, although younger individuals should not be overly confident. Men under the age of 65 have about 30% of prostate malignancies. The younger a guy is, the more aggressive the tumour is.
The most effective approach to determine whether you have prostate cancer is to get tested as soon as possible.
Depression and suicide
Although depression in males is often under-diagnosed and inadequately treated, it is still prevalent.
Male depression is sometimes tough to detect. Instead of being sad or crying, men might become furious or aggressive instead. Friends may be unaware of the warning signs. Men’s sadness can be fatal as it can lead to suicide.
According to researchers at The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 6 million men each year suffer from depressive disorders, including suicidal thoughts.
The risk for suicide is highest during the first few months after a diagnosis of depression.
The best way to prevent male suicide is to recognize the signs of depression.
Other methods to overcome depression:
- going for daily strolls around your neighbourhood
- keeping a journal or writing down your thoughts
- quitting smoking and drinking alcohol can also reduce depressive symptoms in men
- talking to a trusted family and friends
- seeking medical help
Accidents
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer, followed by falls and other accidents.
Men are more prone to injuries than women. They are twice as likely to have a traumatic brain injury and four times more likely to suffer from spinal cord damage due to accidents.
The automobile accident may, however, be avoided if you take precautions to keep yourself safe on the road
Diabetes and obesity
Type 2 diabetes is a serious and growing problem in the United States, affecting nearly 26 million people and more than one in 10 men.
Type 2 diabetes is often caused by obesity and around a third of Americans are obese or overweight. These two problems raise your chance of heart disease and stroke. However, you can lower both by adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Liver disease
According to new scientific research, twice as many men as women die of liver cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide in 2017, with almost two-thirds of those deaths occurring among males. Among men, hepatitis B caused the greatest percentage of fatalities, followed by alcohol-related liver disease.
Chronic alcohol and tobacco use raise your risk of liver illness so the best way to avoid liver disease is to avoid these products.
Erectile dysfunction
The following are the most frequent causes of erectile dysfunction:
- Most often, when blood flow to the penis is restricted or nerves are damaged
- Because of stress or emotional issues
- As an early indication of a more serious health issue, such as atherosclerosis (hardening or blocked arteries), heart disease, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.
Erectile dysfunction affects 30 million American men. The good news is that it is a very curable illness.
Tips that might help:
- Quit smoking.
- Reduce your weight. Excess weight can contribute to or exacerbate erectile dysfunction.
- Physical activity should be a part of your daily routine.
- Seek out therapy for alcohol or substance abuse
Stroke
After heart disease and every type of cancer, stroke is the third most common cause of death.
A stroke occurs when a blood vessel or a clot in the blood interrupts brain blood flow.
Fortunately, up to 80% of stroke occurrences may be prevented.
You should seek the signs of stroke fast:
- Face drooping
- Arm weakness or numbness
- Speech difficulties
Hypertension must be controlled to the greatest extent feasible in order to minimise the incidence of stroke. Keep your blood pressure low, avoid alcohol and cigarettes, and stay slim.
HIV or AIDS
Because early symptoms of HIV can mimic a cold or the flu, many men are unaware that they have the virus. According to the CDC, 76 percent of people with HIV in 2010 were male.
The CDCTrusted Source continues by noting that most new and current HIV infections are found among men who have sex with men. African-American males had the highest incidence of newly acquired HIV infection among all males.
The best way to avoid HIV is to avoid having sex with an infected person. If you may think you may have been exposed to HIV, contact your doctor immediately for testing.
Adam Mulligan did his degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He is interested in mental health and well-being.
