Cuidar-se é uma forma de garantir força, autonomia e qualidade de vida
Across more than 200 countries, men continue to die younger than women — not by fate, but by habit. A University of Southern Denmark study published in PLOS Medicine identifies healthcare avoidance as the central force behind this gap, with men aged 20 to 59 most likely to skip the checkups, screenings, and ongoing treatments that quietly determine how long and how well a life unfolds. In Brazil, where men live nearly seven fewer years than women on average, the pattern is visible in the numbers and felt in the diseases that arrive too late to be turned back.
- Men are dying earlier than women in every corner of the world, and the leading cause is not biology alone — it is the quiet decision, repeated millions of times, to skip the doctor's visit.
- In Brazil, only 69.4% of men saw a doctor in the past year compared to 82.3% of women, a gap that compounds into heart attacks, strokes, and HIV diagnoses caught too late to change outcomes.
- Urologist Eufanio Saqueti warns that the cultural equation of health-seeking with weakness is itself the danger — avoidance does not signal strength, it accelerates preventable death.
- Campaigns like Novembro Azul are working to reframe male healthcare as an act of self-determination, not surrender, reaching men through conversation, screening drives, and partner involvement in treatment.
- The path forward is measurable: men who maintain regular checkups live longer and better, because early detection keeps the window of effective treatment open before disease advances beyond reach.
Men die younger than women — not as a mystery, but as a documented pattern across more than 200 countries. Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark have identified a primary cause: men avoid the doctor. Published in PLOS Medicine, the study found that men skip routine checkups, forgo preventive exams, and struggle to maintain ongoing treatment, with the pattern most pronounced among men aged 20 to 59.
Brazil's data makes the cost concrete. A 2019 national survey found that 82.3% of women had visited a doctor in the previous year, compared to only 69.4% of men. By 2023, that behavioral gap had translated into years of lost life — Brazilian men average 73.1 years, women 79.7. The difference shows up in the diseases that kill men at higher rates: heart attacks and strokes from untreated hypertension and diabetes, and HIV cases diagnosed too late, with men accounting for 70.7% of Brazil's infections between 2007 and 2024.
Urologist and professor Eufanio Saqueti sees this daily in his practice. He describes it not as machismo alone, but as a kind of negligence — men convinced they are fine, too busy, or that admitting illness means admitting weakness. The irony, he stresses, is that early medical attention is the opposite of weakness: it preserves autonomy and quality of life. Fear of procedures like the rectal exam keeps many men away, yet Saqueti notes such exams are quick and increasingly supplemented by blood tests and imaging. Discovering disease at an advanced stage, he argues, is far worse than any momentary discomfort.
Novembro Azul — Blue November — emerged from this recognition. Born in Australia in 2003 as a casual conversation starter about prostate cancer, the movement reached Brazil in 2008 and was formalized in 2011. Today it runs globally, urging men to seek care, pursue screening, and attend to mental as well as physical health. Saqueti has also observed that men with sexual health concerns show better outcomes when their partners attend appointments, suggesting that healthcare need not be a solitary act.
The message, repeated throughout the campaign and echoed in the research, is simple: caring for yourself is how you secure strength, independence, and more years of life. The data still demands attention, and the window for change remains open — but only for those who choose to walk through it.
Men die younger than women. This is not a mystery anymore—it is a documented pattern across more than 200 countries, and researchers at the University of Southern Denmark have now pinpointed a primary culprit: men avoid the doctor.
The study, published in PLOS Medicine, found that men get sick more often and die sooner than women, and much of that gap traces back to a simple behavioral difference. Men skip routine checkups. They dodge preventive exams. They struggle to stick with ongoing treatment. The pattern is sharpest among men aged 20 to 59—the years when work and social life feel most pressing, when stopping to see a doctor can feel like an interruption rather than an investment.
Brazil's numbers tell the story plainly. In 2019, the National Health Survey found that 82.3 percent of women had visited a doctor in the previous year. Only 69.4 percent of men had done the same. By 2023, that gap had calcified into years of lost life. The average Brazilian man could expect to live 73.1 years. The average woman: 79.7 years. That is nearly seven years—a childhood, an adolescence, a young adulthood—simply gone. The toll shows up in the diseases that kill men at higher rates: heart attacks and strokes stemming from untreated high blood pressure and diabetes. Between 2007 and 2024, men accounted for 70.7 percent of Brazil's HIV cases, many diagnosed too late for early intervention to matter.
Eufanio Saqueti, a urologist and medical professor at Centro Universitário Integrado in Campo Mourão, sees this pattern in his practice every day. He describes it not as pure cultural machismo but as a kind of negligence—men convinced they are fine, too busy, or that admitting illness means admitting weakness. "Many men avoid care because of the daily rush and the false sense that they are well," he explains. "Women, by contrast, tend to prioritize self-care and maintain regular attention to their health." The irony, Saqueti stresses, is that seeking early medical attention is the opposite of weakness. It is the way to preserve autonomy and quality of life. Avoiding the doctor does not prove strength; it courts catastrophe.
The cultural campaign known as Novembro Azul—Blue November—emerged from this recognition. It began in 2003 when a group of Australian friends grew mustaches during November as a casual conversation starter about prostate cancer. The movement reached Brazil in 2008 and took its current name in 2011, when the Instituto Lado a Lado pela Vida formalized it. Today it runs globally for the entire month, urging men to seek medical care, get preventive screening, adopt healthy habits, and attend to mental health alongside physical health.
The stakes of prevention are absolute. When disease goes undetected, it advances unchecked. Early diagnosis, by contrast, opens the window for cure. "Depending on the condition, timing is everything," Saqueti says. "Early diagnosis can save lives." He recommends that men see a doctor throughout their lives, but after age 45, annual exams become essential. Each age group has specific screening protocols, and following them makes a measurable difference. Men who maintain regular checkups do not just live longer—they live better, because doctors can catch shifts in vital signs, identify emerging disease, and treat it while options remain abundant.
Fear and embarrassment remain barriers. The rectal exam looms large in men's minds as a source of shame, yet Saqueti notes it is quick and increasingly unnecessary as blood tests and imaging advance. "You cannot neglect your health out of fear of a procedure that takes minutes," he says. "It is far worse to discover disease at an advanced stage, when treatment options are limited." Another common fear is learning of an unexpected illness—but that fear, he argues, misses the point. Early detection is precisely when a window of opportunity opens for safe, effective treatment.
Moving forward requires more than awareness. It requires doctors and patients to build trust, to make consultations count, and to run campaigns that speak directly to men's concerns. Saqueti has noticed something curious: men with sexual health complaints show better treatment outcomes when their partner attends the appointment. "Couple involvement helps with understanding and treatment adherence," he observes. "It shows that health care does not have to be solitary." Male health-seeking behavior is shifting, slowly. But the data still demands attention. The message, Saqueti concludes, must be clear and repeated: health is not weakness. Caring for yourself is how you secure strength, independence, and a longer life.
Citações Notáveis
Many men avoid care because of the daily rush and the false sense that they are well. Women, by contrast, tend to prioritize self-care and maintain regular attention to their health.— Eufanio Saqueti, urologist and medical professor
Seeking early medical attention is the opposite of weakness. It is the way to preserve autonomy and quality of life.— Eufanio Saqueti
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why do you think men resist preventive care so strongly? Is it really just about cultural ideas of toughness?
It is partly that, yes—the idea that admitting illness means losing control. But it is also simpler and sadder: men are busy, they feel fine, and they do not think about the future until it arrives as a crisis.
The numbers from Brazil show a 13-point gap in doctor visits between men and women. That is enormous.
It is. And it compounds. A woman catches something at 45 because she went for a routine exam. A man does not go, does not know, and by 55 it has become something that kills him.
The study mentions men aged 20 to 59 as the worst offenders. Why that window specifically?
Those are the years when a man feels most invincible and most trapped by obligation. Work, family, the sense that stopping means falling behind. By 60, if he has survived, he often becomes more willing to see a doctor.
What about the fear of the rectal exam? Is that really a major barrier?
It is mentioned often, but the doctor makes a good point: it takes minutes, and the alternatives—advanced disease, limited treatment—are far worse. The shame is real, but it is also a convenient excuse for a deeper reluctance.
You mentioned that men with partners present do better with treatment. Why would that change things?
Because health stops being abstract. A partner makes it real, makes it shared, makes it matter in a way a solo visit sometimes does not. It becomes about the relationship, not just the individual.
So the solution is not just better medicine, but better culture?
Exactly. You need both. You need campaigns like Novembro Azul to normalize the conversation. But you also need men to understand that taking care of yourself is not weakness—it is the strongest thing you can do.