Industry Insight

From prostate cancer to hormonal health, many areas of men’s health require more attention. As male life expectancy and healthy lifespan continue to lag behind, Charlie Bryant at Androlabs explores how pharma could help improve this by shifting its focus from treatment to prevention

Charlie Bryant (CB): Current statistics show that two in five men in the UK die prematurely and, on a global scale, men are living on average five years less than women.1,2 It’s clear that there are deep-rooted issues impacting men’s health outcomes and more needs to be done to address this life expectancy gap, which is affecting millions worldwide.

One of the key barriers to improving men’s health is overcoming the stigma of masculine identity. Traditionally men are taught to be self-reliant and ‘strong’, and this stoicism often leads to a reluctance to act on health issues. This becomes particularly apparent with conditions such as mental health, prostate cancer and low testosterone, where fear of judgement or embarrassment can prevent men from seeking help.

Partnering with government, health providers and community organisations can help tackle stigma and raise awareness of specific men’s health challenges. This approach enables earlier disease detection and better health outcomes. As Michelle Terry, CEO of Movember, stated: “When we improve men’s health, the benefits ripple through families, communities, societies and the economy.”3

CB: Key focus areas in men’s health include prostate and testicular cancers, as well as mental health and suicide prevention. While awareness of men’s mental health has grown in recent years, there’s still much progress to be made. In England alone, the suicide rate is three times higher for men than women.4

However, areas such as sexual and hormonal health remain under-discussed and can significantly impact men’s quality of life. Erectile dysfunction and testosterone deficiency are often normalised as signs of ageing. Yet, they can have a big impact on men’s psychological and physical well-being. For some they can be important early warning signs of more worrying conditions such as diabetes and heart disease – the leading cause of premature death for men globally.5,6 It’s vital that men are better informed, and that we create an environment where they feel able and empowered to discuss these conditions.

CB: As an industry we need to collectively reorient our focus from treatment to prevention. The increasing burden of chronic disease is pushing health systems to the limit and impacting productivity. In the UK in 2023, the estimated direct and indirect cost of preventable diseases in men (like heart disease and cancer) was £9.4bn.7

Changing this trend relies on more than just effective medicines, and there is a need to change behaviours. That means better education on risk factors and symptoms as well as getting men to seek help sooner. Recent data shows that two in three men wait over a week to see a doctor about a health condition and one in three waits over a month. It’s our collective responsibility to try and improve these statistics because if men don’t engage the health system at the right time, they won’t be able to access medications that could potentially save their life.

A healthy society supports a healthy economy. A healthy economy enables investment in medical innovation, which in turn further improves the health of society. Maintaining this virtuous cycle of innovation, health and prosperity requires collaboration and the pharmaceutical industry has a vital part to play.

Pharmafocus: In what ways could the government help address this situation?

CB: The introduction of a Men’s Health Strategy last November was an important step forward for improving outcomes. The Government now has a critical opportunity to influence and deliver change, helping men to live happier, healthier lives. This will mean ensuring the healthcare system is accessible to men and designed with them in mind by, for example, looking at what types of services they need and where they would like to access care. It should also mean that healthcare practitioners receive the training and education they need to respond to men’s needs effectively.

Thinking more broadly, the government could use this strategy as an opportunity to build gender-responsive healthcare policies as the norm, so that going forward men’s health needs are addressed alongside those of women, to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach for both. Starting with a gendered lens – rather than looking at what can be adapted at the end – could help create a more inclusive healthcare system overall.

CB: While men struggle to open up about their health, research has shown there are effective ways to overcome this. One being the creation of safe spaces where they can have open discussions with their peers. Discussing stigmatised conditions can be challenging, but charities such as Andy’s Man Club and Man v Fat show that when men feel at ease, they’re more open to addressing their well-being. Encouraging small, actionable steps empowers men to take control of their health.

As an industry we should be more creative with communications to engage men. For example, pubs are a cornerstone of our culture and a space where men go to connect, and various healthcare organisations have used these as locations, alongside leisure centres and even libraries, to deliver health check-ups. Similarly, barber shops have been used effectively around the country as a venue to deliver health services like blood pressure checks.8

It will also be important to explore how we communicate as an industry on the social media and online channels that men are using to look for health answers. While their anonymity can help men seek advice, unmoderated platforms are also rife with misinformation.

Key to combatting this will be partnering with men’s health experts to create credible and accessible content to help men find the answers they need. By creating safe spaces online, building platforms to share experiences and providing access to peer-to-peer support, it could be possible to help men better engage with their health.

CB: The Men’s Health Strategy should help build momentum and take important steps towards closing the male life expectancy gap, but it will require a focus on the biggest killers as well as pushing for changes in the way society approaches and talks about men’s health more generally. A big part of this will be improving education, both around health conditions generally, but also in schools. If change is implemented in the early years, it could help to start normalising conversations about what good health and well-being looks like from a young age so men can spot signs and symptoms earlier.

The strategy should also start to tackle the growing inequalities in men’s health. Men in the most deprived areas in England live nearly 10 years less than those in the least deprived – and the gap in healthy life expectancy for these groups is nearly 20 years.8,9 Addressing this requires close collaboration with community groups to tailor healthcare to the unique needs of different cultures, beliefs and lifestyles.

If society as a whole can work together to get this right, hopefully in the future men will become more informed about their health and better equipped to take action. Then we can look forward to a bigger focus on ‘staying well’, with men having better access to preventative treatments that increase their healthy lifespan and improve their quality of life.

References

1. Visit: https://cdn.movember.com/uploads/files/Media%20Room/UK/The%20Real%20Face%20of%20Mens%20Health%20Report%20-%20Movember%20UK.pdf
2. Visit: https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf
3. Visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/secretary-of-state-commits-to-first-ever-mens-health-strategy
4. Visit: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2023 
5. Visit: bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/wellbeing/erectile-dysfunction
6. Visit: world-heart-federation.org/wp-content/uploads/World-Heart-Report-2023.pdf
7. Visit: https://www.healthlumen.com/investing-in-prevention-for-mens-health-increasing-nhs-health-check-attendance-could-save-the-nhs-billions/
8. Visit: https://www.lsbu.ac.uk/about-us/news/london-barbershops-to-offer-live-saving-blood-pressure-tests
9. Visit: https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/mens-health-lives-men-our-communities