St. Mary's Medical Center

Summer 2017

Spirit of Women magazine is a national publication presented to women by hospitals and their physicians. The magazine provides up-to-date, evidence-based healthcare information and promotes our hospitals as leaders in women's health excellence.

Issue link: https://spiritofwomen.epubxp.com/i/846880

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18 w w w. s p i r i t o f w o m e n . c o m | S U M M E R 2 0 1 7 | S P I R I T O F W O M E N Men's Health for the men in your life Healthful hints I t's no old wives' tale: Women really do tend to serve as the health care gatekeepers for the men in their lives. A recent University of Chicago study, for example, found that older married men were 20 percent more likely to have gotten a colonoscopy to screen for colon cancer in the past five years, compared with men who were single. The percentage went up to 40 percent if the men were happily married and their wives had high levels of education. The researchers concluded that women's health decisions influence their partners, especially if a man views his spouse as supportive. In other words, nagging—in a nice way—can be a healthy thing to do. What can you do to help the men you care about take good care of themselves? Try some of these conversation starters the next time there's a lull in your daily chitchat. "When is the last time you had a checkup?" Once men hit age 18 and stop having yearly checkups at the pediatrician, many don't see a doctor again until their 50s. That's when prostate problems may start to become an issue, or when they are more likely to have a health crisis, such as a heart attack. This is a big missed opportunity for preventive care. Even if a man feels fine, he should see his health care practitioner regularly. Checkups can catch problems he's having even before symptoms show up, such as diabetes or pre-diabetes (when blood sugar is high but not high enough to be diabetes). By Sandra Gordon Continued on page 20

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