Health: Men are far worse off than women – Report on the Men's Health Day Public Welfare Event

Health: Men are much worse off than women

Liu Mofei

On the upcoming third Men's Health Day, 26 tertiary and secondary hospitals across the city will have "volunteer" doctors wearing blue name tags. Their mission is to provide you with men's health consultations and treatments.

To coincide with the "Men's Health Day" publicity campaign held on October 28th by the National Population and Family Planning Commission and other departments, the China Population Culture Promotion Association, the Urology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and the Andrology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association will jointly launch a public welfare campaign, "Caring for Men's Health," starting October 26th. During this campaign, doctors from the andrology, urology, and endocrinology departments of 26 secondary and tertiary hospitals in Beijing, including Beijing Hospital, Puren Hospital, Peking University Third Hospital, and Haidian Hospital, have volunteered to join the ranks of men's health volunteers. Around Men's Health Day, they will wear special blue name tags and provide relevant men's health knowledge and treatment to male patients.

Men's health issues are not only personal problems for patients, but also affect the well-being of families and society. Statistics show that men have twice the incidence rate of more than 30 diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, hemophilia, and endocrine disorders, compared to women. Among men aged 40 to 70, more than half suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED). Scholars estimate that the number of ED patients in mainland China could reach 125 million.

Compared to the large patient population, men's health awareness in society today remains very weak. Of the vast number of men with erectile dysfunction (ED), less than one-tenth actively seek medical attention. Even more worrying is the increasing prevalence of counterfeit drugs manufactured and sold by unscrupulous pharmaceutical companies, causing many patients to suffer both physical and financial losses.

The purpose of holding Men's Health Day activities is to provide convenient and high-quality health consultation and treatment services for male patients, help them face up to and solve health problems that they usually consider shameful to talk about, and improve their quality of life.

Excerpted from Beijing Morning Post, October 27, 2000.