Data is being used to steer research and care like never before. That’s a good thing. It’s also a revealing one.
The challenges men face in health care go far beyond an assumed expectation that men will be slower to complain about an issue — or go to any type of doctor for treatment.
Data provided by the New Jersey Hospital Association, illustrate the differences between the sexes. And perhaps why men (78.8 years) have a life expectancy that’s nearly five years shorter than women (83.5).
Take a look at these five key metrics:
69.7 vs. 27.3
The rate of deaths due to unintentional injury, per 100,000 residents, for men and women respectively. Men die from unintentional injuries at more than two and a half times the rate of women — the single largest disparity in the data.
10.5 vs. 3.3
The rate of motor vehicle-related deaths, per 100,000, for men and women. Men are roughly three times more likely to die in a motor vehicle-related incident.
183 vs. 116.5
The rate of deaths due to heart disease, per 100,000, for men and women. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both sexes in New Jersey — but men die from it at nearly 1.6 times the rate of women.
14.1 vs. 21.2
The rate of deaths due to Alzheimer’s, per 100,000, for men and women. This is the one reversal in the data — the only one of the 10 leading causes of death where women have a higher rate than men.
4 of 5
The leading causes of death are identical for men and women in New Jersey through the top four spots — heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, and stroke. It’s the fifth spot where they diverge: chronic lower respiratory illness for men, Alzheimer’s for women.
For information about New Jersey Hospital Association, go to njha.com/.
