Medical experts are sending a message to men in Mississippi: go see a doctor. MPB's Ashley Norwood reports on mental and physical health challenges facing males.
There is an ongoing concern about the health and well being of men. Males have a life expectancy about 5 years less than females and men are also dying at a higher rate from cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Tobe Momah, a family physician at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, refers to it as "the spiral."
"You start with obesity at the age of 30, you end up with hypertension at the age of 40, you end up with diabetes at the age of 50 and it spirals and takes toll on the blood flow in your blood vessels that affects the blood flow to your heart and your kidneys and your brain," said Momah.
Ashley White is a mental health care provider with Henry Health. She says, men have higher stress levels than women and if it's not processed healthily, it can cause such illnesses.
"So if we look at how stress impacts our body, that goes back into chronic conditions getting us into a space where we can see more diabetes and hypertension. But again, the culprit for it is the stress that we don't manage well," said White.
According to the CDC, women are 100 percent more likely to visit a doctor than men. Momah agrees saying men tend to be less proactive about their health.
"I want you not to just go to the doctor when you're ill when you have a sore throat or a bone ache. I want you to go to the doctor when you are healthy. Tell him I want to get my annual physical, my cholesterol checked, I want to get my heart checked, prostate checked, colon checked, I want to get my testicles checked, diabetes, checked," said Momah.
June is Men's Health Awareness Month. Ashley Norwood, MPB News.
