Yet state government devotes virtually nothing to men-specific health issues like it does for women. Money is available for breast and cervical cancer screenings, but none for prostate or testicular cancer. The state's reproductive-health program is devoted to women and children, not men. And the health department has a Web page on women's health, not men's.
David Sundwall, the Utah Department of Health's director, says the attention on women is warranted. Taking care of women - who, by and large, take care of children - creates a healthy population. But Sundwall is part of a growing chorus calling for some gender parity.
"While [I] don't like to keep dividing us into genders, there are things specific to men that deserve attention," Sundwall said this week.
He recently asked an employee to be the point person on men's health issues and to eventually create a Web site that may address a range of issues, from preventive screenings to testosterone supplements. Sundwall also issued a challenge to Utah's public health officers to think more about men.
Compared to women, more Utah men smoke, are overweight, eat poorly and drink alcohol excessively, according to health department data. They die at higher rates from common ailments like heart disease, and they are more often victims of motor vehicle crashes, poisonings and suicide.
It's proof that the lack of attention on men matters, said Steve Alder, associate director of the University of Utah's Public Health Program. "We are seeing measurable, direct problems that are associated with that lack of emphasis."
Of course the health department spends millions on men as it works on cardiovascular disease, asthma and diabetes. But there's no segregated funds for men like the $46 million in state and federal money spent on nutrition and pregnancy programs for women and children.
The emphasis on women's health flourished in the 1990s, as a backlash to federal rules that excluded women of child-bearing age from some clinical trials. The federal Office on Women's Health was established to ensure that "all women and girls are healthier and have a better sense of well-being" and it now has programs on everything from breast health to HIV to diabetes.
Proponents of men's health believe the pendulum swung too far.
"I can't fault the women for wanting to get the same attention that we got earlier," said Kermit Heid, 75, of Salt Lake City, who has asked the Legislature to fund prostate-cancer screening as it does mammograms.
Men, he said, need to speak up. "We're not as vocal about the situation as we should be."
There are two bills in Congress to establish an Office of Men's Health. The bills note prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the United States and that women outlive men. Federal and state data show the life expectancy gap is shrinking, but women are expected to outlive men by five years nationally and almost three years in Utah.
The Men's Health Network, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., calls men's relative poor health a "silent crisis." The organization aims to reduce men's premature death, increase their physical and mental health and boost government funding.
The nonprofit blames the health care system, as well as men's own attitudes, for their fragility: Fewer men have health coverage, they make half as many doctor visits, are employed in more dangerous jobs and their gender-specific diseases are underfunded, the group says.
In her book Why Men Die First, Marianne Legato says biology plays a role, too. She says men are less likely to survive in the womb, are born six weeks behind in developmental maturity and their hormones during adolescence encourage reckless behavior. Their weaker immune systems mean they suffer more severely from common infections.
"If it's true that men rule the world, it comes at a heavy cost," the doctor and Columbia University professor writes. Men ''from conception until death, are inherently more fragile and vulnerable than women.''
The federal government is trying to change men's attitudes about health. Doctors say men are too willing to ignore signs of illness and don't go to a doctor until their symptoms are severe.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently launched a national ad campaign called "Real Men Wear Gowns" to promote preventive screenings to middle-aged men.
Andy Peiffer has found that it helps to cater only to men at his Salt Lake City clinic. The Men's Health Center lobby looks more like a den, with pictures of ships and large armchairs. There are no wait times and each patient gets more than an hour with a doctor for their physicals.
Peiffer, the clinic's medical director and former family practice doctor, explained why he decided to specialize: "Men are sort of a different animal."
hmay@sltrib.com
Talk to your doctor about which examinations apply to you and when and how often you should be tested.
* Weight: Have your body mass index (BMI) calculated to screen for obesity. Do it yourself online at www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.
* Cholesterol: Check it regularly starting at age 35. If you are younger than 35, you may want it checked if you smoke, have diabetes or high blood pressure, or if heart disease runs in your family.
* Blood pressure: Check it at least every 2 years.
* Colorectal cancer: Start testing at age 50. If you have a family history, you may want to screen earlier.
* Diabetes: Get tested if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
* Depression: If you have felt "down," sad or hopeless over the past two weeks or have felt little interest or pleasure in doing things, you may be depressed. Talk to your doctor about getting screened.
* STDs: Talk to your doctor to see whether you should be tested for gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia or other sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
* Abdominal aortic aneurysm: If you are between the ages of 65 and 75 and have ever smoked (100 or more cigarettes during your lifetime), get screened once for an abnormally large or swollen blood vessel in your abdomen.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality.
