A new report published by the European Commission highlights the state of men’s health in Europe as a serious concern.

Led by Alan White, Professor of men’s health at Leeds Metropolitan University, the report sets out to inform policy-makers, health professionals, academics and the wider population of the health challenges that men face across Europe.

Patterns emerging from data collated from 34 European countries show that poor lifestyles and preventable risk factors account for a high share of premature death and illness in men. Indeed, the report estimates that half of premature deaths among men are avoidable.
 
The report features a specific chapter on accidents, including those that occur in the workplace. It states that men account for 95 per cent of fatal incidents and 76 per cent of non-fatal incidents in the workplace. Considerable variations occur between countries, with Italy and Germany accounting for the highest number of fatal incidents. Broken down according to industry sector, construction, manufacturing and transport, storage and communication account for the highest proportion of fatal incidents.
 
Construction and manufacturing also account for the majority of non-fatal incidents in men. Just over two-thirds of non-fatal incidents occur among craft and related trade workers, machine operators, or workers employed in an elementary occupation.

Other key findings highlighted in the report include:

• although men are living longer than ever before, the current decline in births means that there will be a huge reduction of men of working age across the EU in the coming decades;
• men are less likely than women to engage in routine or preventative health checks;
• among men, prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in Europe; and
• testicular cancer still remains the primary cause of cancer death among young males (20-35 years).

Depression in men and other mental-health problems are also under-detected and under-treated in all European countries, says the report, which concludes that the high level of preventable illness and death among men can be addressed by targeted action.
 
The report is available at http://ec.europa.eu/health/population_groups/docs/men_health_report_en.pdf