The purpose of Men's Health Week is to heighten awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. Britt Marcussen, MD, UI Family Medicine physician at UI Family Care Center, North Liberty, talks about men’s health in general:

At what age should a young man start seeking preventive health care?

It can really start at any age. Frankly I don’t see a lot of young men unless they’re coming in to see me for a sports physical. That may mean that it’s been since they were five or six years old since the last time they’ve been in a medical office rather than for colds and flu. I encourage even 18 and 20 year olds to come in for a base-line physical.

What would preventive health care include for a young man?

It would be a lot of standard things that you might expect—taking a history of any illnesses or prior illnesses, checking to see if any diseases run in their family, physical examination, blood pressure check, height and weight, those sorts of things. It might also include discussions about diet and exercise, sunscreen, screening for alcohol, drugs, and smoking.

If there are any risk factors, particularly in young men, we might check cholesterol levels; we would review things like immunizations to make sure those are up to date; again, if people are at risk, they might get an HIV test; and we might talk to them about diabetes, depression, and other common health problems.

At what age should a man receive what is referred to as his base-line physical?

Well, as I mentioned before, it can start at any time. I generally recommend for young men in their 20s and 30, a physical exam every three to five years; and then in your 40s, every year or two; and then annually after 50. None of these things are written in stone, and a lot of it depends on your general health, as well as things that might run in your family.

As a man ages, what important screenings are recommended? 

One of the most common ones that a lot of people know about is colon cancer screening, or colonoscopy, and that should start at about age 50. Now we move that up a little bit if there’s a family history of colon cancer and generally that’s done about 10 years prior to the age if you have a family member that was diagnosed. Blood pressure should be done periodically to monitor for high blood pressure; cholesterol can be checked for anyone over the age of 35 and sometimes even earlier if there’s any risk factors for heart disease; we can start checking for the prostate health in men over the age of 50 and that will often include a digital rectal examination where we feel the prostate gland, as well as a blood test for something called the PSA, which is a screening blood test for prostate cancer. We pay particular attention to people who have prostate cancer in their family and high risk groups such as African-Americans.

How important is family history?

It’s very important because many diseases have a genetic component. So for instance, if you have a father and an older brother who have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and both of them had heart attacks or heart disease that started in their 50s, then you’re at higher risk for that. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have those problems, but if we can detect cholesterol that’s high at an early age and bring it down, for instance with diet or exercise or even medications, you can substantially lower your risk for those problems developing down the road.

With the advances in medicine over the years, and increased awareness in screening what is the average life expectancy for men?

Well it’s going up all the time, now it’s around age 75 for men and 80 for women. When people come in to see me, I try to stress living healthy and living well and doing the appropriate screening, so that not only can we make it possible for them to live longer and exceed those averages, but to really live a healthy life for as long as possible, so that they can stay vital and active into their senior years.

KXIC broadcasts are presented in mp3 format. The latest version of Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player, or Real Player is required to play them.

Listen to the radio broadcast