A consensus on men's health status and policy in Asia: a Delphi survey

Are sex disparities in COVID-19 a predictable outcome of failing men's health provision?

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, has taken a catastrophic toll on society, health-care systems and the economy. Notably, COVID-19 has been shown to be associated with a higher mortality rate in men than in women. This disparity is likely to be a consequence of a failure to invest in men’s health, as it has also been established that men have a lower life expectancy and poorer outcomes from non-communicable diseases than women. A variety of biological, social and economic factors have contributed to the sex disparities in mortality from COVID-19. A streamlined men’s health programme — with the urologist as the gatekeeper of men’s health — is needed to help prevent future tragedies of this nature.

COVID-19 has been shown to be associated with a higher mortality rate in men than in women. In this Perspectives article, the authors posit that this disparity is due to a failure to invest in men’s health and discuss the biological, social and economic factors that have contributed to the sex disparities in mortality from COVID-19, as well as considering how a streamlined men’s health programme with the urologist in a central role could address these issues.

Men's health in the United States: a national health paradox

A health paradox exists in the United States. Men have worse health outcomes than women, but national offices exist for promoting women's but not men's health. Two factors that might contribute to this paradox are: underappreciation for the number of health issues that affect men more than women and unawareness that men's health receives less attention than women's health. Therefore, the aim of this article was to summarize the data related to these two factors. First, using mostly government data, an inventory of health issues that are more common in males than females was generated, with prevalence rates listed. Second, results from two new scientometric analyses are presented: (a) number of times "men's health" and "women's health" appeared in titles or abstracts of papers in PubMed from 1970 to 2018; and (b) number of journals currently indexed in MEDLINE that specialize in men's or women's health. The epidemiological data illustrate numerous health issues are more prevalent in men than women, and scientometric data reveal men's health has been given less attention as a distinct field of biomedical research than women's health. This information can help to educate legislators, health officials, journalists, and the general public about the current paradox surrounding men's health in the United States.

Science and society: Development of the Asian Men's Health Report: challenges and opportunities

Men have shorter life expectancy and higher mortality than women; however, only a few countries have dedicated men's health policies. Men's health reports can support the development of men's health policies. The 2013 Asian Men's Health Report (AMHR) systematically documents and compares the status of men's health across countries in Asia. The AMHR can be used as an exemplar to guide future men's health reports. The main challenges during creation of the AMHR were the lack of comprehensive health databases and the variety of data quality between countries. The AMHR revealed variations in mortality and morbidity across diseases, regions, and income groups, prompting a Delphi survey among men's health stakeholders to determine whether any dedicated men's health policies in Asia existed and to reach a consensus on the recommendations of men's health policies. The AMHR helped to promote men's health in Asia and across the world, generated research questions and collaborations, provided evidence to support development of men's health policies, identified the need to improve existing health databases, and developed a framework for the creation of other men's health reports.