Men's Healthcare IE - Q2 2023

Men’s Healthcare Q2 2023 | A promotional supplement distributed on behalf of Mediaplanet, which takes sole responsibility for its content

www.healthnews.ie

“Men, themselves, need to play a central role in taking control of their health and wellbeing.”

“Men’s late presentation to health services can lead to a large number of problems becoming untreatable.”

Colin Fowler, Director of Operations, Men’s Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI)

Finian Murray, Senior Health Promotion and Improvement Officer, HSE

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David Gillick stepped off the track in 2013 after a successful athletics career.

His achievements include becoming an Olympian at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, European 400m Indoor Champion, and Irish Outdoor and Indoor 400m record holder.

David now promotes healthy body and mind, having written two best-selling books on the subject David Gillick’s Kitchen and Back On Track, as well as being a vocal advocate for mental health.

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What is testosterone deficiency and what to do if you think you may have it

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ate Onset Testosterone Deficiency (TD) is a deficiency of testosterone in men as they age. It is a common hormone disorder in men like others such as type 2 diabetes and can lead to a range of signs and symptoms that can significantly affect quality of life. TD is also a risk factor ie. it can put you at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis.

Also, if you have some existing conditions, your risk for low testosterone is higher.

Certain medications and illicit drug use can also lower testosterone. Some of the most common conditions associated with low testosterone are obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, and we know that it is important to make sensible lifestyle choices to reduce our exposure to these.

The testosterone molecule acts on receptors called androgen receptors located all over the body which are responsible for developing and maintaining male characteristics as well as mood regulation.

They also play a role in metabolism and sexual function.

The three most common signs or symptoms relating to low testosterone are low libido or sex drive, loss of early morning erections and erectile dysfunction. These symptoms rarely travel alone, and below are the other common associated symptoms with testosterone deficiency: • Physical: Fatigue, loss of muscle tissue, increased central obesity

Making health easy and accessible for men with some top tips Not too long ago, we were unaware of the full extent of men’s poor health status and the specific health issues that they are contending with. However, this is no longer the case.

• Psychological: Increased anxiety, lower mood, loss of concentration.

Typically, a middle-aged man may present with low mood or increased anxiety.

On further questioning, he may reveal a history of reduced libido or the inability to maintain erections. Sometimes, we accept these things as “I’m just getting on” and as a result, without prompting, it may never have crossed his mind to mention such symptoms, or to ask for help.

If any of these signs and symptoms of low testosterone are affecting you, please speak to your GP who will be able to help you.

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n recent years, a broad range of research has highlighted the health challenges which face men in Ireland and further afield.

Colin Fowler Director of Operations, Men’s Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI)

Learn more about the importance of testosterone for physical and emotional well-being by visiting testosteronedeficiency.ie This disease awareness campaign is funded and developed by Besins Healthcare BHUK/2023/396-ROI. June 2023

Dr Emmett Byrne GP with a special interest in Men’s Health, Dublin

Paid for by Besins Healthcare

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Get a copy from mhfi.org/mhw/ mhw-2023. html#ActionMan

Tips for Men’s Health Week Men, themselves, need to play a central role in taking control of their health and wellbeing. Men’s health is not just an issue for individual men — their health can often be determined by other factors outside of their control. Thus, policymakers, service providers and society as a whole must recognise the role they need to play.

International Men’s Health Week (MHW) 2023 (Monday 12th—Sunday 18th June) offers an ideal opportunity for the whole of Ireland to make these positive changes. MHW is celebrated in many European countries, as well as in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and several places worldwide.

The overall aims are simple: • Heighten awareness of preventable health problems for males of all ages • Support men and boys to engage in healthier lifestyle choices/activities • Encourage the early detection and treatment of health difficulties in males

Putting men in control of their health In Ireland, it’s very common to hear people say: ‘Ah, sure, your man’s the picture of health.’ During MHW 2023, everyone is being asked to think about what their ‘picture of health’ might look like and to go for it.

While some aspects of our health are determined by things which are beyond our control (such as genetics, our income, the environment that we live in and our access to services), there are also simple, practical and realistic things we can all do to improve our health and live a longer life.

To support MHW 2023, a new free Man Manual — ‘Action Man: ten top tips to improve men’s health’ — is available. This doesn’t preach or lecture, it simply explains: • Why an action is needed • What can be done about it • How to find support if you need it The 10 top tips put men into the driving seat and give them the tools and DIY instructions to make positive changes — if they choose to be their own ‘Action Man.’

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Potential for improved treatment of aggressive types of prostate cancer

What is a ‘Man Box’ and how can we be free from its constraints?

Carmen Bryce Communications Manager, Mental Health Ireland

For help visit mentalhealth ireland.ie

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The phrase ‘Man Box’ has emerged in psychology in recent years to describe the constraints that exist around men and the conformity to masculine beliefs, which have a significant impact on men’s health and mental health.

rom childhood, men are often ‘boxed in’ by what they can and cannot feel, say and do. Anything that doesn’t fit or falls outside this box — playing with dolls, expressing fear or sadness — can pay a heavy social price. Boys learn quickly that they need to prove they fit in the box and as they grow into men, the box begins to feel smaller and smaller — more and more suffocating.

Men don’t seek help The box is surrounded by a code of silence — real men don’t talk about their problems; real men don’t ask for help. This prevents men from seeking professional help and care when going through emotional or personal crises. This can lead to a propensity for poor mental health, substance use, and suicidal tendency.

In Ireland, men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women. However, there are higher Constraints of the ‘Man Box’ rates of depression and anxiety Speaking at among women.

Mental Health This indicates Men often go Ireland’s ‘Man that men often I Am’ webinar, go undiagnosed undiagnosed for mental Dr Shane for mental O’Donnell, health issues health issues and are Health and are more more reluctant to seek Promotion and reluctant to Improvement seek help help than women when Officer with than women they’re struggling. the HSE says: when they’re “We know from struggling. research that men who feel that they have to live up to these expectations Getting out of the ‘Man Box’ often have negative mental health Poor mental health and high suicide outcomes. They feel they have to rates among men are a modern-day be the breadwinner; self-reliant; epidemic, and we’re taking action. emotionally withdrawn; the provider Ireland was the first country to have for the family; be physically strong; a men’s health policy — largely to drink alcohol. driven by the Men’s Health Forum in “It really is a very limited frame partnership with the HSE to support we feel we have to fit into. Men who men’s health and mental health. don’t fit into this frame can feel as We must work hard to break if they’re failing as a man. It also the cycle of silence and shame leaves us with a limited set of tools to among men and provide a safe and respond to the stresses in life.” supportive space outside of the confines of the ‘Man Box.’

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An ongoing trial known as ‘Darolutamide Augments Standard Therapy for Localised Very High-Risk Cancer of the Prostate’ (DASL-HiCaP) can potentially benefit men with aggressive prostate cancer types in addition to standard treatment.

Dr Paul Kelly Consultant Radiation Oncologist & Medical Director, Bon Secours Radiotherapy Cork in partnership with UPMC Hillman Cancer Centre & Co-Chair of the Cancer Trials Ireland Genitourinary Disease Specific Sub-Group

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ASL-HiCaP is a prostate cancer trial for patients with aggressive types of prostate cancer that remain confined to the prostate area. The purpose of this study is to see if a new drug — combined with modern radiotherapy and hormonal treatment — can improve outcomes for people with localised prostate cancer that is considered to have a high risk of recurrence.

Improving treatment for aggressive prostate cancer The trial is randomised and controlled. This means that, in addition to the best standard treatments, half the participants in the trial will receive the new drug, and the other half will receive a placebo — a substance that has no active medicine in it. To be clear: All patients receive the current standard of care plus or minus the drug being studied.

Will this drug improve the rate of cure for patients with localised but aggressive prostate cancer?

The main aim of the study is to see if the addition of the study medication (darolutamide) to standard treatment is better for improving the outcomes of people with this type of prostate cancer compared to standard treatment.

The drug has already been shown to be beneficial in men with advanced prostate cancer, and the question to be answered by this trial is: Will this drug improve the rate of cure for patients with localised but aggressive prostate cancer?

Additional outcomes the trial aims to determine • The impact of the new medicine on prevention of recurrence and survival • How safe the new treatment is • Whether the medication is cost-effective • The effects of the new treatment on quality of life • Differences in the costs of care for people on the new treatment • Tests that might identify people who are more or less likely to benefit from this kind of treatment Clinical trials ongoing in sites across Ireland The study opened here in the summer of 2021 and has recruited participants at nine sites around the country: Bons/UPMC Cork, St. Luke’s Rathgar, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Mater Private Hospital, Tallaght University Hospital, SLRON at St. James’s Hospital, Cork University Hospital, Galway University Hospital, and the Beacon Hospital.

The trial has now recruited over 1,000 patients globally and is on target to complete recruitment by the end of June this year. This includes a significant contribution of 76 participants, so far, randomised across Ireland and the UK. If successful and properly distributed, it can improve outcomes for prostate cancer patients and complement existing treatment.

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Initiatives helping men across Ireland take a closer look at their health Males constitute almost 50% of the population on the island of Ireland and, therefore, deserve to have a gender lens focused on their specific health needs.

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esearch shows that men experience a high burden of ill health and die too young. Their poorer lifestyles are responsible for a high proportion of chronic diseases and men’s late presentation to health services can lead to a large number of problems becoming untreatable.

Finian Murray Senior Health Promotion and Improvement Officer, HSE

Policy supporting men’s health In response, the Republic of Ireland developed a National Men’s Health Policy — the first country in the world to do so. The Policy recognised the important role played by service providers and local practitioners in improving the health of men and boys and acknowledged that these stakeholders also have training and support needs.

In 2017, the Policy was followed by a Healthy Ireland – Men Action Plan. This action plan has been reviewed and updated. It provides both the bedrock of and a mandate for a focus on men’s health needs.

• Men on the Move is a physical activity and lifestyle programme that targets overweight men to engage in exercise and improve their mental health.

• HSE ‘Engaging Men’ and ‘Masculinities and Men’s Health’ webinars are run four times a year, covering topics such as the ‘what,’ ‘why,’ ‘when’ and ‘how’ of men’s health.

• Cairde (Construction Alliance to Reduce Suicide) was set up to investigate why construction workers are at higher risk of suicide and develop suicide prevention training and resources for the Irish construction industry.

• One of the best initiatives is the Engage National Men’s Health Training Programme.

Men are (contrary to public perception) interested in their health.

Men’s health initiatives in Ireland There are many practical initiatives which have been piloted in Ireland to improve men’s health. These include: • Men’s Health Week, which runs from 12th to 18th June (Father’s Day).

• Farmers Have Hearts, run by Irish Heart Foundation and supported by HSE and Glanbia, aims to promote and support health behaviour change to improve the cardiovascular health of Irish farmers.

The course, called ‘Engage Connecting with Men’, is a one-day workshop offered to a broad range of practitioners. It aims to increase participants’ understanding of best practices when seeking to connect males with health and social services. Following a train-the-trainer programme in 2022, HSE Health Promotion and Improvement staff are now running workshops for frontline health and social care staff throughout the country.

These initiatives, and more, demonstrate that men are (contrary to public perception) interested in their health — if we offer them the right things in the right ways.

1 in 4 people over the age of 50 are at risk of developing Atrial Fibrillation.

Find out more at www.keepthebeat.ie

Date of approval: March 2023 - Job code: PP-ELI-IRL-0602

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