Men’s health as an issue warranting specific attention has begun to attract more notice as growing evidence emerges of differential epidemiological trends between men and women, particularly with respect to men’s premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and morbidity linked to poor health-seeking behaviors, mental health and violence, including homicide and injuries. In almost every country of the world, men are more likely than women to die before age 70, and data from the World Health Organization suggest that approximately 52% of all NCD deaths worldwide occurred among men. Across the life course, mortality is higher in men than in women, and overall life expectancy for men is universally shorter. Compared with women, men have a mortality rate 4 times greater due to external causes and a 7 times greater risk of dying from homicide. The probability of men dying from cardiac ischemic diseases is 75% higher compared with women and 36% of deaths in men are preventable, compared with 19% in women.
The articles in this special issue of the Pan American Journal of Public Health provide valuable evidence to inform health policies in the Region that will support this transformative agenda for gender equality and universal health going forward.
Appreciation
The Pan American Journal of Public Health recognizes with appreciation the partial financial contribution of the Global Men’s Health Foundation, which helped to support the publication of this special issue, as well as the Foundation's programatic and academic support.
The Journal thanks the members of the Editorial Committee, specially those who helped make the manuscripts more interesting and useful to our readers: Dave Baron, University of Southern California, United States; Francisco Becerra, former Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC, United States; Camilo Fernández, Harvard University, Harvard, United States; Ingrid Perscky, Global Men's Health Foundation, Panama; Remigio Vela Navarrete, Urology Professor, Spain; and PAHO Technical area on Equity, Gender and Cultural Diversity.