National Cleveland Clinic survey examines generational divide in men's health

Findings reveal 87% of men are concerned about how their current health habits will affect their health in the future

2024-09-04

(Press-News.org) Embargoed until 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, September 4, 2024, CLEVELAND: A new national survey by Cleveland Clinic revealed similarities and differences across generations when it comes to men’s health. The survey highlights health priorities and concerns among men; however, there were generational differences in health habits, mental health and the use of social media as a source of health information.

While 95% of men surveyed said living a healthy lifestyle is their top priority, findings show that different health behaviors exist among the various generations. The poll surveyed members of Gen Z (born 1997-2005), Millennials (born 1981-1996), Gen X (born 1965-1980) and Boomers+ (born before 1965). Here are some examples from the men surveyed:

Get a yearly physical (61% Gen X and Boomers+ vs. 32% Millennials and Gen Z men) Avoid smoking/vaping (60% Gen X and Boomers+ vs. 43% Millennials and Gen Z men) Address mental health (53% Gen X and Boomers+ 59% Millennials and Gen Z men) Nearly 2 out of 5 Gen Z men do not have an established primary care provider. As a result, many men from this generation say they’ve never, or are not sure if they’ve ever, had their blood pressure, cholesterol, or BMI/weight checked.

The survey, which was taken earlier this year by a national sample consisting of 1,000 U.S. males, 18 years of age and older, was issued as part of Cleveland Clinic’s ninth annual educational campaign, MENtion It®. The campaign aims to address the fact that men often do not mention health issues or take steps to prevent them.

“We saw in the survey that men are concerned with how the health decisions they make now will affect them in the future,” said Petar Bajic, M.D., director of the Center for Men’s Health at Cleveland Clinic. "Health risks related to age and family history make the relationship with a primary care provider essential, even for younger men.”

“Monitoring key indicators in men like blood pressure and cholesterol in addition to sexual health concerns is crucial because we know that these can often signal a larger underlying health condition."

Findings also reveal that most men fear getting cancer (74%), but rates of screenings and cancer awareness remain low. One-third of Gen X and Boomers+ who are eligible for colorectal cancer screening have not been screened or are not sure if they’ve been screened. Additionally, a quarter of men with an average risk of prostate cancer (50+) have not been screened or are not sure if they’ve been screened.

The survey also asked men about where they turn for health information. While all generations agree that healthcare providers are a top source for health information and advice, use of other sources varies by age. Gen Z men are most likely of all generations to turn to social media (33%) compared to just 5% of Boomers+.

Visit www.clevelandclinic.org/MENtionIt for more information about this year’s survey.

Methodology

The online survey was conducted among a national sample consisting of 1,000 American males, 18 years of age and older, living in the continental United States completed between June 12 and June 25, 2024, in partnership with the market research company Savanta.

The total male sample surveyed was nationally representative based on age, region, urban/rural, ethnicity, race, income and education census data. The margin of error for the total sample at the 95% confidence level is ±2.6 percentage points.

Additionally, oversamples were collected for adult Gen Z [Year of Birth 2005-1997] (total n=350), Millennials [YOB: 1996-1981] (total n=350), Generation X [YOB: 1980-1965] (total n=350), Boomers+ [YOB: 1964 and before] (total n=350). Any data cited on generational segments leverages the oversample data and is not nationally representative.

Embargoed until 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, September 4, 2024, CLEVELAND: A new national survey by Cleveland Clinic revealed similarities and differences across generations when it comes to men’s health. The survey highlights health priorities and concerns among men; however, there were generational differences in health habits, mental health and the use of social media as a source of health information.

While 95% of men surveyed said living a healthy lifestyle is their top priority, findings show that different health behaviors exist among the various generations. The poll surveyed members of Gen Z (born 1997-2005), Millennials (born 1981-1996), Gen X (born 1965-1980) and Boomers+ (born before 1965). Here are some examples from the men surveyed:

Get a yearly physical (61% Gen X and Boomers+ vs. 32% Millennials and Gen Z men) Avoid smoking/vaping (60% Gen X and Boomers+ vs. 43% Millennials and Gen Z men) Address mental health (53% Gen X and Boomers+ 59% Millennials and Gen Z men) Nearly 2 out of 5 Gen Z men do not have an established primary care provider. As a result, many men from this generation say they’ve never, or are not sure if they’ve ever, had their blood pressure, cholesterol, or BMI/weight checked.

The survey, which was taken earlier this year by a national sample consisting of 1,000 U.S. males, 18 years of age and older, was issued as part of Cleveland Clinic’s ninth annual educational campaign, MENtion It®. The campaign aims to address the fact that men often do not mention health issues or take steps to prevent them.

“We saw in the survey that men are concerned with how the health decisions they make now will affect them in the future,” said Petar Bajic, M.D., director of the Center for Men’s Health at Cleveland Clinic. "Health risks related to age and family history make the relationship with a primary care provider essential, even for younger men.”

“Monitoring key indicators in men like blood pressure and cholesterol in addition to sexual health concerns is crucial because we know that these can often signal a larger underlying health condition."

Findings also reveal that most men fear getting cancer (74%), but rates of screenings and cancer awareness remain low. One-third of Gen X and Boomers+ who are eligible for colorectal cancer screening have not been screened or are not sure if they’ve been screened. Additionally, a quarter of men with an average risk of prostate cancer (50+) have not been screened or are not sure if they’ve been screened.

The survey also asked men about where they turn for health information. While all generations agree that healthcare providers are a top source for health information and advice, use of other sources varies by age. Gen Z men are most likely of all generations to turn to social media (33%) compared to just 5% of Boomers+.

Visit www.clevelandclinic.org/MENtionIt for more information about this year’s survey.

Methodology

The online survey was conducted among a national sample consisting of 1,000 American males, 18 years of age and older, living in the continental United States completed between June 12 and June 25, 2024, in partnership with the market research company Savanta.

The total male sample surveyed was nationally representative based on age, region, urban/rural, ethnicity, race, income and education census data. The margin of error for the total sample at the 95% confidence level is ±2.6 percentage points.

Additionally, oversamples were collected for adult Gen Z [Year of Birth 2005-1997] (total n=350), Millennials [YOB: 1996-1981] (total n=350), Generation X [YOB: 1980-1965] (total n=350), Boomers+ [YOB: 1964 and before] (total n=350). Any data cited on generational segments leverages the oversample data and is not nationally representative.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Sex and size disparities in access to liver transplant for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

2024-09-04

About The Study: In this study, women with hepatocellular carcinoma were less likely to receive a deceased-donor liver transplant and more likely to die while wait-listed than men with hepatocellular carcinoma; these differences were largely (but not entirely) explained by sex-based differences in candidate size. For candidates listed with exception scores, additional changes to allocation policy are needed to resolve the sex disparity, including solutions to improve access to size-matched donor livers for smaller candidates. Corresponding Author: To ...

The world's first nuclear clock

2024-09-04

For many years, scientists all around the world have been working towards this goal, now suddenly things are happening very fast: it was only in April that a team led by Prof Thorsten Schumm (TU Wien, Vienna) announced a major success. For the first time, an atomic nucleus had been switched from one state to another using a laser – an effect that can be used for high-precision measurements. Now, just a few weeks later, this thorium transition was successfully applied in practice: TU Wien and JILA/NIST (USA) succeeded in combining a high-precision optical atomic clock with ...

H5 influenza vaccines: what needs to be done to reduce the risk of a pandemic

2024-09-04

WASHINGTON — As the global threat of H5N1 influenza looms with outbreaks across species and continents including the U.S., three international vaccine and public health experts say it is time to fully resource and support a robust strategy to address this and future potential pandemic influenza threats, including to consider voluntary vaccination for those now at exposure risk. “At this critical juncture, decisions about vaccine development, stockpiling, and deployment will shape our ability to respond to immediate and future pandemic risks,” write Jesse Goodman, MD, PhD; Rick A. Bright, PhD; and Nicole Lurie, MD, ...

Epigenetic changes reprogram astrocytes into brain stem cells

2024-09-04

Resting brain stem cells hardly differ from normal astrocytes, which support the nerve cells in the brain. How can almost identical cells perform such different functions? The key lies in the methylation of their genetic material, which endowes these special astrocytes with stem cell properties. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University have published their findings in the journal Nature. In mice, the researchers showed that experimentally induced lack of blood ...

Sex hormones modulate the immune system to influence disease risk differently

2024-09-04

Researchers have uncovered how hormones profoundly affect our immune systems, explaining why men and women are affected by diseases differently. Scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Imperial College London have shown for the first time which aspects of our immune systems are regulated by sex hormones, and the impacts this has on disease risk and health outcomes in males and females. It is well established that diseases can affect men and women differently, due to subtle differences ...

Researchers identify mechanism underlying allergic itching, and show it can be blocked

2024-09-04

Why do some people feel itchy after a mosquito bite or exposure to an allergen like dust or pollen, while others do not? A new study has pinpointed the reason for these differences, finding the pathway by which immune and nerve cells interact and lead to itching. The researchers, led by allergy and immunology specialists at Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, then blocked this pathway in preclinical studies, suggesting a new treatment approach for allergies. The findings are published in Nature. “Our research provides ...

Brain scanning approach shows wiring of depression

2024-09-04

By repeatedly scanning the brains of a small group of patients for a year and a half, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers have identified a distinct pattern of neuronal interactions that appears to predispose some people to developing depression. Published Sept. 4 in Nature, the work highlights the potential of a new “deep scanning” approach to help predict a person’s susceptibility to depression and other neuropsychiatric conditions and may guide the development of novel treatments. Neuroscientists have long relied on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify patterns of activity ...

Heart drug improved exercise tolerance in clinical trial of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy

2024-09-04

Exercise intolerance is often severe among patients with cardiovascular disease and can impose significant limitations on their physical abilities and quality of life. Medications known as cardiac myosin inhibitors (CMIs) are being developed to help patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), a disease in which the heart muscle becomes thickened leading to reduced blood flow out of the heart. In a new analysis led by researchers from Mass General Brigham, investigators probed multiple exercise response ...

Menstrual cycle influences the spread of mutant cells in mammary tissue

2024-09-04

Leuven/Amsterdam/Cambridge, 5 September– A team of researchers at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Oncode Institute and the University of Cambridge have discovered that a defensive mechanism connected to the menstrual cycle plays a role in spreading mutant cells within mammary tissue. A new study published in Nature describes how the growth and subsequent removal of extra milk ducts in breast tissue during the menstrual cycle can contribute to the spread of mutant cells leading to large mutant fields prone to develop tumors. Although tissue in healthy individuals may look completely normal, ...

Study shows how oceans are key to addressing global challenges

2024-09-04

New research shows how oceans can be used to help address major challenges such as the shortage of antimicrobial medicines, solutions for plastic pollution and novel enzymes for genome editing. In the past 20 years, scientists have greatly increased the number of microbial genomes they have collected from the ocean. However, using this information for biotechnology and medicine has been difficult. For this new study, led by BGI Research in China in collaboration with the Shandong University, Xiamen University, ...

National Cleveland Clinic survey examines generational divide in men's health

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: