Men's physical, mental health matters during pandemic: Bahrain

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain has joined in the observance of this year’s International Men’s Health Week which started yesterday and will run until to Sunday, June 20. It is celebrated each year ending on the Father’s Day, which is observed on the third Sunday in June.

The world acknowledges that the overall aims of the week are to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems for males of all ages, support men and boys to engage in healthier lifestyle choices and activities and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.

The global occasion provides an opportunity for a wide range of organisations and individuals to draw attention to the poor state of men’s health, organise activities that engage men, and advocate changes to health policy and practice.

In short, it puts men’s health on the map both nationally and globally. This year, with the world still in the grip of a pandemic that has exacted a particularly heavy price on men, the International Men’s Health Week will be particularly significant.

It will serve as a reminder to everybody that men are worth saving. Indeed, during this pandemic, men’s mental health faces a lot of challenges.

Questions, concerns, depression and anxieties remain. While numerous health concerns are statistically more common in men, such as suicide, alcohol abuse and heart disease, there have been increasing reports that the COVID-19 outbreak is posing a greater risk to men than women.

This is why this occasion is timely to be able to highlight the relationship between the coronavirus outbreak and men’s health. At the time of writing, the latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) have found that 63% of deaths related to COVID-19 around the world have been among men.

So why are men more likely to be affected by COVID-19? At the time of writing, there isn’t a definitive reason why men are statistically more affected than women by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The reasons could be biological, cultural and/or behavioural. Experts have suggested that due to the differences in immune systems between men and women, this may play a part in women having stronger immune defences, thus improving their chances in beating off the virus.

It is also known that the virus is more dangerous for people with existing health issues, particularly cardiovascular problems and hypertension – both of which disproportionately affect men. Research has found that this is partially due to behavioural problems in men, as on average more men indulge in unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as smoking and excessive drinking, than women.

Truth is, even before the pandemic, men’s mental health around the world has been a cause for concern. There is a low number of men who seek treatment for depression, anxiety and another mental health challenge