Men’s health, often sidelined in the glare of the macho talk, has gained a lot of momentum and visibility in recent times– and, a decent quantum of credit for this development goes to the Movember Foundation. An organization dedicated to helping men lead healthy and productive lives, the foundation offers a common platform for discussions, knowledge sharing, and ready information on the ailments that target the men of the world.
This movember, let’s talk about the five most common health concerns afflicting men, that calls for an immense amount of retrospection, research, and awareness building. From cardiovascular disease treatments, and diabetes, to hushed topics like erectile dysfunction, prostate, and lung cancer– the healthcare and life sciences industry is funding, innovating and deploying effective solutions to counter these common maladies. Especially, the three listed herein:
1) What’s ailing the modern man’s heart?
Though quite cliched, the latest heart disease statistics hardly have anything new to offer. If at all, they only substantiate the basic premise that an unhealthy lifestyle is the major culprit behind the ever-increasing incidences of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In the US alone, one out of every three deaths is attributed to CVD. Perhaps this explains why America is one of the biggest markets for cardiovascular catheters. Another associated industry that has grown substantially over the past one decade is that of echocardiography (ECG) devices. Technological innovations by Philips Healthcare, Schiller, and SunTech Medical, have resulted in the launch of lucrative product variants like portable and mobile ECG devices.
Just like CVD, the incidence of diabetes is also very high among the menfolk. Unlike CVD though, a vast majority of male patients are aware of, and competently manage their diabetes, by keeping a meticulous track of their blood sugar levels. This trend is not just prevalent in the Americas alone, rather EMEA, as well as APAC region too, have emerged as strong markets for diabetes monitoring devices. Particularly, patients with type 2 diabetes prefer owning their own diabetes care devices to cut down the number of clinic visits.
While the diabetes monitoring devices market is growing as a natural response to the growing instances of diabetes in the male population, subsidiary products like diabetic food and diabetic footwear are in demand thanks to the growing awareness of this ailment and the associated preventive measures. Major brands like Nestle, PepsiCo, and Fifty-50 Foods, have come up with zero-calorie diabetic-friendly beverages as healthy substitutes for the diabetic population. Come to think of it, every class of food can have a diabetes friendly substitute that could potentially spawn a whole industry.
2) Prostate and the lungs: Highest prevalence of the associated cancers in men
While a big chunk of the population is aware of breast cancer and the symptoms related to it, a vastly reduced number of people are aware of such health issues as prostate cancer in men. Of late, platforms like Movember have done their bit to encourage discussion on this malady, and thankfully, the number of players in the global prostate biopsy market has increased radically. Though both prostate needle biopsy and liquid biopsy are being employed in hospitals and diagnostic centers– our analysts have found that the former is more popular. The reason for this scenario is quite simple: prostate needle biopsy costs less, and invites minimal contamination and morbidity.
Close on the heels of prostate cancer are the incidence of lung cancer. Though not specifically limited to just the men, the latest data from the American Cancer Society has confirmed that more than 100,000 men have been diagnosed with lung cancer this year alone. Targeted therapy is seen as one of the best treatments here, especially when compared to the side-effects caused by chemotherapy and radiation. Technavio’s market research finds that it is the increased demand for targeted therapy which has, in turn, triggered the demand for lung cancer therapeutics.
Major names in the lung cancer therapeutics industry like Pfizer, F. Hofmann-La Roche, and AstraZeneca, are diligently working towards capturing the emerging markets in the APAC and the EMEA area. And, even though the entry in these markets has been rather challenging, their products have made a positive impact and quickly cornered the lion’s share in these markets.
3) Testing your testes
Regular testing of the testicles is highly recommended so that conditions like erectile dysfunction can be diagnosed quickly and treated promptly. A secretive condition, much to the patients’ disadvantage, erectile dysfunction is also caused due to radiation therapy, radical prostatectomy, or hormone therapy. Currently, the lack of open discussions and proper awareness must serve as reasons that must encourage extensive R&D in this discipline. And thankfully, of late, countries like China, Japan, and South Korea have witnessed big demands for erectile dysfunction medications, signalling the growing awareness about erectile dysfunction treatments.
Summarizing: There is still a long road to go, and luckily, innovation- intent- funding- and information, are all coming together to solve some of the biggest problems associated with men’s health across the world. Actively led by luminaries like the Movember Foundation, men’s health is finally getting the undivided attention it deserves.
