There is no medication for blinkers of machismo

According to a study presented at the American Sociological Association in San Francisco, middle-aged men who value masculinity are 50 per cent less likely than other men to go to the doctor for preventive care.

Health and education

The study found that men with strong masculine beliefs and blue-collar jobs were more likely to report obtaining care than other men — the one exception to the findings.

But highly educated macho men were just as unlikely to obtain preventive healthcare as less-educated macho men. The research suggests men with more education have better healthcare habits.

The study involved 1,000 men who participated in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. The men were middle-aged and had at least a high school degree — thus limiting the study's applicability to all men.

But the research hints at the stereotypical tough-guy image having a negative effect on men's health, said Kristen W. Springer, the lead author of the study.

Gender paradox

“This research strongly suggests that deep-seated masculinity beliefs are a core cause of men's poor health, inasmuch as they reduce compliance with recommended preventive health services,'' said Springer, of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

“The findings offer insight into the gender paradox in health, whereby men have a lower life expectancy at birth relative to women, despite having higher socioeconomic resources,'' Springer adds.