Study says U.S. men sicker than men in some other developed countries. HOWEVER ...

Article now on the ABC News website claims this, citing the usual reasons why this may be so: men's stubborness to seek medical care, doctor aversion, unhealthy habits, health cost issues, among others.

But the reason I'm posting about this is because of a surprising (to me at least), even eyebrow-raising, statement made toward the end of the article:

"There was a silver lining among men in the U.S. They have the lowest rate of prostate cancer-related deaths among the other countries studied, largely because the U.S. offers wide-ranging cancer testing and advanced treatments, the authors of the study said." (Boldface mine)

(For what were the "other countries studied": see comment below).

Really? I had not been aware of any comparative PCa mortality studies for the developed nations, so, for me at least, this is surprising.

So I looked at the actual study, the link for it provided in this study summary:

https://abcnews.go.com/health/mens-health-worse-us-study/story?id=86836409

The actual study:

https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2022/jul/are-financial-barriers-affecting-health-care-habits-american-men#6

From it:


"Men in the U.S. have the lowest rate of prostate cancer–related deaths."

See in this article "Exhibit 6," a graph giving PCa mortality rates for Norway, Sweden, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Australia, France, Canada, and the U.S. The U.S. is ranked last (which is good).

The relevant discussion in the article:

"While American men are more likely to lack easy access to regular primary and preventive care, cancer care is one area where U.S. health outcomes are comparatively better than other high-income countries. In 2019, men in the U.S. had the lowest rate of prostate cancer–related deaths among the 11 countries in our study. The relatively lower U.S. prostate cancer death rate likely reflects the quality of cancer care in the U.S., which features extensive screening as well as a variety of advanced treatments and technologies. U.S. cancer death rates have dropped significantly over the past three decades, largely a result because of better screening for the disease."

According to the website, this article is just appearing, so perhaps there will be reaction, positive or negative, to its conclusions. We will see.

There may well be controversy over the above suggestion in the article that increased screening in the U.S. has made a difference.

But the claim that the U.S. has this lowest comparative PCa mortality rate among the cited nations is still remarkable, if true.

That “doctor aversion” thing is real. In the past year or so I had have 2 friends contact me after they were diagnosed with PC. One is early 70s and a G9 and the other is mid-60s and a G8. Both said they hadn’t been to a doctor in many years because “I’m healthy, so why should I go to a doctor?”

Sigh…….