Page 141 - Urological Health

• 97% of workplace deaths in Canada between 1993 and 2005 were male.
• Young men aged 25 to 29 years account for the largest number of occupational
injury deaths.
• Based on the most conservative estimates, 137 workers die each day from
occupational diseases and an estimated 130 of these are male.
2. Social network: This includes incidents or situations (i.e. malnutrition, poor diet, toxin
exposure) that have an effect on disease and death in a man’s life. An example might be
men of lower education and economic status have fewer options for career choices and
therefore may face greater pressure to take high-risk jobs.

Behaviour

This includes ways in which men act and behave that raise the risk of serious health problems and
death. Risky behaviours include participating in dangerous sports, heavy or binge drinking,
ignoring the signs of a health problem and not planning regular health checkups. Five patterns
exist:

1. Risky operation of motor vehicles. Men's higher degree of physical risk extends to
driving a car or anything motorized. It’s not because men drive more, it’s because men
UNDER REVIEW
tend to drive faster and more recklessly.
2. Alcohol abuse. Men are two to three times more likely to have a serious alcohol problem
than women. 13 Alcohol is a risk factor for a number of serious diseases and death,
including cancer, diabetes and liver disease. It has been shown to be a major factor in
deaths from car accidents and suicide. The rate of global deaths because of alcohol is
more than 5 times higher for men (6.3%) than for women (1.1%).
3. Smoking. Men are more likely to smoke than women. Smoking is a risk factor for a
number of serious diseases. In developed countries smoking is responsible for 25% of
all male deaths and 7% of all female deaths.
4. Unhealthy eating habits. Given all the evidence that a healthy diet can reduce the risk
of disease and death, men don’t make the effort to eat as well as women. Men eat too
few fruits and vegetables, and consume far too much salt.
5. Not going to see a doctor. Men, especially between 18 and 40, make fewer visits to health
practitioners than women. For many men, their health is only ever addressed when
something is really wrong. A trip to the doctor’s office is usually made out of necessity,
very rarely is it self-initiated or preventive. Men just don’t do checkups. Because of this
men are missing the opportunity for early detection of health problems and
recommendations for prevention.

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