Issue 172 Item2 Men’s Macho Attitude In US Adds To Diabetes Deaths

Men’s Disregard of Risk Blamed for High Diabetes Death Rate in US

All over the world — except in the U.S. — diabetes death rates are dropping. But men die of diabetes twice as often as women.
The global-but-for-the-U.S. drop in diabetes deaths seems surprising. All over the world, diabetes is on the rise. But also on the rise is awareness that keeping to a strict diet and a strict treatment regimen keeps diabetes under control.

It’s the "strict" part that may be a problem for young men, suggests Colin Prichard, PhD, of the University of Southampton, England.
"Young men resent restrictions being placed on their lifestyle. They are not good at considering medium-term futures and are more likely to be attracted to risk," Prichard says in a news release. "Being diabetic or maintaining a healthy diet is about life boundaries. The desire to override this can result from a ‘male macho attitude’ — which means they are less likely to follow their treatment regimen."

Prichard and colleagues looked at data collected by the World Health Organization. They compared deaths among youths (age 15-24) and young adults (age 25-44) in 1974-1976 to deaths in 1995-1997.

The data came from 10 industrialized nations: Australia, Canada, England & Wales, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, and the U.S. The findings appear in the current issue of the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health.

The U.S. had the highest rate of overall deaths among youths and young adults: 2,039 per million men and 889 per million women. Japan had the lowest rate: 939 per million men and 485 per million women.

The U.S. also had the highest rate of diabetes deaths among youths and young adults: 24 per million men and 17 per million women. Italy had the lowest rate for men: 6 per million. France and Spain had the lowest rate for women: 3 per million.

The diabetes death rate for young Canadians dropped but remained significantly higher than the rate in the rest of the world.
"Higher diabetes death rates in both Canada and the U.S. may be indicative of some dietary or health care factor within the culture and may well be the most striking finding," Pritchard and colleagues suggest.

Pritchard, C. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 2003; vol 15: pp 169-177. News release, University of Southampton, England

===============================

DID YOU KNOW:
The Diabetes Education Society offers online accredited continuing education programs. Got an hour, take a course. Visit www.MedEdOps.org, take the free sample course and review the Course Catalog. Then update yourself and your staff to meet your Education Recognition requirements. For more information call (800) 659-5808.