Married Men More Likely
to Get Health Screenings
Excerpt By Natalie Engler, Reuter's Health

BOSTON (Reuters Health) - Unmarried older men are less likely to get necessary health screenings than their married peers, according to a new study of men over age 65 in the UK.

With the number of single men living alone expected to more than double by 2021, according to the 2002 British census, the problem has potential health implications for the country, said Dr. Kate Davidson, who presented her findings here Saturday at Gerontological Society of America's annual meeting.

To examine the link between marriage and self-reported health, Davidson and her colleague Tom Daly, both of the University of Surrey in Guilford, England, analyzed three national databases and interviewed 85 men over age 65.

They found that divorced men and those who have never been married were less likely to have their cholesterol and high blood pressure checked routinely.

The divorced and never married men also reported worse physical and mental health, were more likely to smoke and were more likely to drink to excess--defined as consuming more than 22 alcoholic beverages a week.

It is not that the husbands were better informed, Davis explained in an interview with Reuters Health. Nearly all of the study participants "know what constitutes good health," she said. For example, they knew the recommended alcohol limit per week, were aware of the dangers of smoking, understood what was meant by a "good diet" and realized they should exercise.

The difference was that the married men put that knowledge into practice.

In other words, Davidson said, their overall health, or at least their perception of it, was better because their wives "bossed them into" going in for routine check-ups and screenings.

Davidson explained that while women routinely visit the doctor--for family planning, pregnancy, or to take their children to their pediatrician--the men in her study seemed to consider going to the doctor a "sign of weakness."

They did not want to "give in" to sickness, she observed, adding that even men on regular medication for high blood pressure or breathing difficulties didn't want to admit to seeing a doctor.

In addition to these men, whom she calls "stoics," she interviewed a large number of "skeptics" who see physicians as quacks.

One man said he would "rather go to a vet than see a doctor," she reported. Another likened the reliability of a physician's diagnosis to that of a weatherman's predictions.

But doctor avoidance becomes a vicious circle, Davidson warned. These elderly men postpone making an appointment until they are sick. They then have negative associations with the doctor because they only go when they are in pain or discovering bad news, for example, about their prostate.

They may be too embarrassed to endure a rectal exam, Davidson noted. "But prostate cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer if caught early."

Speaking with Reuters Health, she said she does not believe this ostrich mentality is unique to older men. On the contrary, all generations of men tend to stick their heads in the sand, she said. "But the neglect is potentially disastrous for older men because they are more likely to suffer the consequences," she added.

Reference Source 89

For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".