The ‘silent health crisis’ facing men in England should be a national concern, the Local Government Association (LGA) has said.
A new LGA report says men are dying nearly four years earlier than women and suffering disproportionately higher rates of cancers, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
It highlights ‘severe’ regional inequalities, with men in deprived areas living for up to 10 fewer years than those in more affluent places and facing a 20-year gap in healthy life expectancy.
The report also says four out of five suicides are by men.
The LGA said councils were working with community and grassroots organisations to tackle the issue in recognition that ‘men often distrust traditional health services’.
It urged the Government to create a men’s health strategy and reinstate the £57m local suicide prevention fund, which ended in March.
The chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, David Fothergill, said: ‘Innovative local initiatives led by councils are making strides, but national action is needed to help close the life expectancy gap.’
