Nearly every person in America is affected in one way or another by the COVID-19 pandemic. However
men and women in some minority groups are dying at the highest rates. In the U.S., males are almost 50
percent more likely to die from coronavirus. And that jarring gender disparity is reflected in other countries
as well, with male death rates ranging from 60 percent in China to 70 percent in Italy.
The public health impact of this is broad. The increased illness rates for men is dominating ICU space,
creating enormous medical expense and endangering medical staff. Male workers in areas vital to the
economy are being lost to illness and death. The economic slowdown is heavily leveraged by men being
too ill to work, workplaces no longer being safe and the likelihood of mens’ jobs being lost. Sicker men
means more contagion from men to everyone else. It is time for an Office of Men’s Health because preventable
male death and illness is decreasing the quality of life for everyone.
The magnitude of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in males may come as a surprise to some.
But it shouldn’t.
The fact is that males have had higher death rates than females in many previous epidemics and pandemics,
including SARS, MERS and the iconic flu epidemic of 1918. Scientists have yet to pinpoint the exact
causes of this difference, but they’ve identified four important factors.
1. Men have weaker immune systems than women. This is part of our genetic makeup and can’t be
changed. As a result, males, from conception through old age, are generally less able to fight infections
than females, leaving them more susceptible to getting sick from the coronavirus or any other disease-producing
microbe. It also means that males will generally have more severe reactions to diseases and will
more likely die.
2. Boys and men in America live shorter, sicker lives than girls and
women, dying at younger ages and in larger numbers from nine of the
top 10 causes of death. The causes of higher male death rates include
high-blood pressure, diabetes and lung disease; the very same ones
that are considered high-risk factors for severe illness and death with
COVID-19. This has been true for more than 50 years. As bad as this
is for males in general, men of some minority groups with pre-existing
conditions, and socioeconomically disadvantaged men, have even
higher rates of disease and death.
3. Males are more likely than females to engage in behaviors that
increase their risk of illness. For example, more males than females
smoke and males tend to wash their hands less frequently and not as
completely as do females; yet another factor identified as a hazard
during pandemics.
4. Males are half as likely as females to seek medical attention early on in a medical condition. This
undoubtedly contributes to the fact that more women are testing positive for coronavirus (if you don’t get
tested, you don’t get counted). It also means that instead of being quarantined and treated or hospitalized,
boys and men with the virus are remaining in their communities where they are likely to infect others.
Ironically boys and men are also disproportionately affected by the most effective pandemic
preventive: social distancing. Overall, males have fewer social networks than females and are more likely
to feel socially isolated. At the same time, men who lose their jobs, particularly those in lower socioeconomic
areas, are likely to respond by self-medicating with drugs and/or alcohol. In healthy economic times
with low unemployment rates, American males already account for 66 percent of opiate-related deaths and
75 percent of suicides. In times of economic crisis and high unemployment, the number of deaths is sure to
rise. Many fear that we must also prepare for another pandemic, one of mental health issues and suicide,
especially among males.
One of the most important actions that can be taken in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is to shore
up this nation’s ability to address the fundamental health status of all men and boys. This can be done by
assessing structural and policy deficiencies in our health care infrastructure and by launching programs to
specifically address the deadly gender disparities that affect men and boys.
Preventable male death and illness is decreasing the quality of life for everyone. Men’s Health Network,
MHN, and the National Black Men’s Health Network, the oldest and largest not-for-profit advocacy and
education organizations in the world focusing on the wellbeing and health of boys, men and their families,
believe that the most efficient way to effect this type of change is for Congress to create an Office of Men’s
Health within the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS. The Office of Men’s Health would
coordinate national initiatives and existing government programs, and allocate resources to address the
health disparities seen in boys and men. It could also fund research, public policy initiatives, and educational
outreach to boys, men and their loved ones aimed at enhancing their overall health and wellbeing.
The Office of Women’s Health in HHS was created in 1991 and has had resounding successes in advancing
the understanding of health issues in girls and women and in better serving their wellness and health needs.
In the ensuing years, a number of other equally effective offices and agencies dedicated to women’s health
have been formed. There is, however, not one single office within HHS or anywhere else in the federal
government focusing on men and boys.
MHN applauds the success of these women’s health entities in our government. We believe now is an
opportune time to establish such capabilities to help address the health and wellness challenges faced by
our nation’s boys and men not only during times of emergencies and pandemics like we face today, but all
the time.
Ana Tomšić,
Vice president
Men’s Health Network
Jean Bonhomme,Founder and chairman,
National Black Men’s Health Network
Salvatore J. Giorgianni, Jr, Sr. science advisor
Men’s Health Network
Chair-Emeritus, American Public Health Association, Men’s Health Caucus
Armin Brott,
Men’s Health & Wellness author and advocate
