Health minister announces initiatives on men's health

doi:10.1136/bmj.320.7240.961/a

BMJ 2000;320:961 ( 8 April )

News

Health minister announces initiatives on men's health

Gavin Yamey , BMJ
The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

New government proposals to promote men's health and address gender inequalities in life expectancy have been announced byYvette Cooper, minister for public health. The proposals are themost significant acknowledgement of men's health needs since 1992when the chief medical officer for England described gender differencesin health in his annualreport.

Speaking at a conference on young men's health last week at Aston University, Birmingham, Ms Cooper said: "We know that thebiggest health inequality that exists is between men and women.If you are a man you are likely to die on average five years earlierthan a woman. This health gap is wider for men from less affluentbackgrounds." Discussing the health problems faced specificallyby boys and young men, she said that fetal mortality was higheramong males, that "[mothers'] postnatal depression has more effecton boys than girls, boys are more likely to experience . . . [Full text of this article]