Men living longer but spend latter years sick

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: The good news - Malaysian men are living longer, at an average of 72 years. The bad news - Their healthy days are over 14 years earlier than men in Western countries and Japan.
In other words, they will spend their last 14 years battling ill health.
"This is very uncomfortable because Malaysian men do not die, they suffer ill health," says Datuk Prof Dr Tan Hui Meng, president of the Malaysian Society of Andrology and the Study of the Aging Male.
He said studies showed that an average Malaysian man gets his first heart attack in his 50s. In Western countries, this happens to men in their early 70s.
A random study of 4,000 men in Petaling Jaya in the last few months revealed that the average age of those who got their first heart attack was 58.
The study also showed that 87 per cent of the respondents had one major illness while 67 per cent had two.
Dr Tan, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, said men did not take potential risk seriously and unlike women were reluctant to seek treatment.
The risk factors for diseases include lack of exercise, excessive smoking, drinking and eating, inadequate sleep and obesity.
Dr Tan said these factors accumulated and exploded when Malaysian men reached the age of 50.
"It is payback time for abusing the body and leading an unhealthy lifestyle.
"The result is that when men should be enjoying their most productive years, they suffer from diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks and strokes."
Concerned with men’s health, Malaysia will host the First Japan-Asean men’s health and aging conference in conjunction with the Second National Men’s Health and Aging Conference at Hilton Kuala Lumpur on June 15.
Some 500 healthcare workers are expected to attend.
Dr Tan said Asean and the rest of the world could learn a lot from the Japanese experience in men’s health and aging, as its population had the longest life expectancy in the world.
He said doctors should be "men-friendly" and educate them on the importance of having a healthy lifestyle from an early age.
"There is a need to create an environment for men to have easy access to information and to talk about their problems, including sexual problems."