Why care about diabetes and the men in our lives? Because according to the National Institutes of Health, statistics show that when it comes to their own health, men have fewer checkups with a regular healthcare provider than do women. They remain unaware of the often hidden dangers of obesity, high blood pressure, depression, sexual dysfunction, and diabetes.
Men can have type 2 diabetes for years and not know you have it. Many men don’t know they have it until they develop problems such as vision loss, kidney disease, or erectile dysfunction.
According to dLife.com, men with diabetes suffer more from some diabetes-related health problems than women. The American Diabetes Association reports that:
- In people who develop diabetes before the age of 30, men develop retinopathy (a vision disorder that can lead to blindness) more quickly than women.
- Having the main symptoms of peripheral vascular disease – pain in the thigh, calf, or buttocks during exercise; cramps; change in temperature; sores that don’t heal, swelling – is linked to a two- to three-fold increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, or cardiac failure in men with diabetes.
- Amputation rates from diabetes-related problems are 1.4 to 2.7 times higher in men than women with diabetes.
Historically, men have not been forthcoming about their health, particularly conditions like diabetes, depression, or sexual dysfunction. But today, many men are waking up to the fact that good health and longer life demand positive, consistent action.
For More Information
Visit womenshealth.gov
Read Men & Diabetes, Diabetes-Related Problems in Men on dLife.com
Read For Men, Ignoring Diabetes Can Be Deadly, a National Institutes of Health e-publication
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