OHIO — The 7th annual MENtion It survey at the Cleveland Clinic revealed 55% of men do not get regular health screenings and most men do not know their complete family history for cancer and urological issues.
The findings show men are nearly just as concerned about cancer as they are about their sexual health, with 38% of men marking cancer as a concern and 32% expressing concern about their sexual health.
About 44% of men named erectile dysfunction as their top health concern as they age, but more than half of men incorrectly think low testosterone causes erectile dysfunction, when cardiovascular disease is much more likely to be the underlying cause.
“These are common issues that pretty much all men deal with at some point in their life. They’re treatable,” said Dr. Petar Bajic, a urologist in the Center for Men’s Health at the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute. “A lot of the issues that men develop they may not think are very serious. They may relate to urination or sexual function and they may see them more as an inconvenience than a sign of some medical issue, but it is, we always try to drive home the point that many times these symptoms can actually be the sign of a more serious issue like diabetes or heart disease.”
Bajic said the overarching theme year to year is there is a lot of room for improvement in the quality of health care for men.
He pointed to an annual checkup with a primary care physician as a great place to start. He said it’s important for men to know their family history to understand risk factors and be sure to seek preventative medical care.
To learn more about the survey findings, click here.
