--- title: "An Astonishing Number of Men Are Dying Because They Refuse to Go to the Doctor" description: "Men die from preventable causes way more than women, and some experts think it's because they don't go to the doctor enough." date: "2025-08-26" modified: "2025-08-26" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/male-health-dying-refusing-doctor" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Treatments" tags: - "gender" - "men" - "mortality" - "urology" --- # An Astonishing Number of Men Are Dying Because They Refuse to Go to the Doctor ![Men die from preventable causes way more than women, and some experts think it's because they don't go to the doctor enough.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Men appear to be dying disproportionately from [preventable diseases and conditions]() way more than women, and in many cases it's their own damn fault: because they're refusing to go to the doctor until it's too late. In [interviews with the *New York Times*](), doctors and public health experts expressed concerns with the state of men's preventative care, which they say many chaps tend to ignore — to their own peril. Breaking this issue down between men and women is fraught for a number of reasons. For one thing, women's health has only been taken seriously by the medical establishment for the past few decades; the [FDA wasn't even required]() to include women in clinical trials until 1993. Still, there are some indications that medical reticence may be hurting men in sweeping ways. According to a [landmark study]() conducted by the American Heart Association in the late 1990s, men made up 75 percent of all sudden cardiac deaths, with men aged 45 to 75 particularly likely to die due to coronary artery disease. With symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath as [early warning signs](), coronary artery disease can easily be treated if it's caught early enough — but men have to convince themselves to go to the doctor first. Though heart disease remains the leading cause of death [among men globally]() and in the [United States](), prostate cancer is another major killer that could be treated effectively by regular screenings. The [American Cancer Society estimates]() that in the US, one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetimes — and that one in 44 men will ultimately die from it. According to Eric Wallen, the chair of urology at Medical University of South Carolina, a lot of men erroneously believe they don't need to get prostate exams, which are indeed uncomfortable, but [probably not much more so]() than a pap smear. "I think a lot of people are falling back on, 'Well, that’s not really recommended,'" Wallen told the *NYT* his patients. (According to the University of California at Los Angeles' Health system, those screenings [very much *are* recommended]() for all men between the ages of 50 and 55, or at age 45 if they have a family member with prostate cancer. Any man who has to get up frequently in the night to urinate, often an [early warning sign]() of prostate trouble, should also get checked out.) Changes to the way men get healthcare after COVID — which [killed men far more often]() than women, [studies have shown]() — may also have to do with their increasing health disparities. "I used to joke and say Viagra was the best thing to ever happen to the men’s health movement," Mike Leventhal of the Tennessee chapter of the Men's Health Network advocacy organization told the *NYT*, "because at the time, you had to look a doctor in the eye and tell him about why you’re there." Now, men can discreetly get their erectile dysfunction (ED) medication from telehealth services like Ro or Hims without having to go through the screenings previously required to obtain those medications, which are known to [induce a drop in blood pressure]() that may be dangerous for men with certain preexisting conditions. Speaking to the *NYT*, Johns Hopkins urology professor Arthur Burnett said the telehealth trend is also worrisome because ED can also be an [early sign of heart disease]() — one that would not be caught by a virtual prescriber going through dozens of requests for prescriptions each day. "These services allow people to just quickly make requests that don’t necessarily allow a proper health work-up and may miss diagnoses," Burnett warned. **More on male health:** [*As Health Questions Swirl, Weird Spot Appears on Trump’s Hand*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()