The DG for Health and Consumers of the European Commission has issued a report on the state of men’s health in Europe, as reported earlier this month. This report rates the health of men within the EU across a number of areas mainly lifestyle factors, health status, non-communicable diseases and accidents. This report aims to highlight a number of key health issues facing men living in Europe and address the challenges that need to be tackled in the area of men’s health.

Men’s Health in Malta

o Lifestyle

Daily tobacco smoking amongst men in Malta is slightly lower than the EU median ranking Malta 10th at 30%. The data quoted in the report refers to 2002 figures, 2008 figures show that the proportion of men smoking daily has gone down to 26%1 . Alcohol consumption is also low compared to the EU with the proportion of men consuming alcohol in the past year below the EU median. Age standardised death rates due to chronic liver disease are also well below the median at 9 per 100,000 deaths compared to 20 per 100,000 deaths in the EU. Excessive alcohol consumption is a risk factor associated with chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver. Obesity still remains a problem amongst men in Malta. Maltese men have the highest proportion of obesity when compared to the rest of the EU.

o Health Status

The life expectancy at birth for men in Malta is approximately 77 years which is slightly higher then the EU 27 average. Men in Malta have one of the highest life expectancies for 50 year olds without an activity limitation (healthy life years). Men in Malta can expect to live on average 22 years after the age of 50 if they have no activity limitations. This is 5 years more then the median of 17 for the EU. The percentage of 50 year old men in Malta with a severe activity limitation is the lowest in Europe at 6.4% which is well below the EU median of 14%. However the life expectancy fore these Malta men with a severe activity limitation is the lowest in the EU at approximately 2.5 years when compared to the median of approximately 3.9 years across Europe.

o Non-communicable Diseases

Cancer and circulatory system diseases remain the top underlying causes of death in men in Malta. The age standardised mortality rate for ischaemic heart disease is slightly above 150 deaths per 100,000 which is above the EU27 average of approximately 110 deaths per 100,000. Premature death due to ischaemic heart disease (death amongst those below the age of 65) is at the EU median. Deaths due to stroke compare well with the EU27 with the rate for stroke for all ages at the EU average of approximately 60 deaths per 100,000. Premature deaths due to stroke are low amongst men in Malta ranked the 5th lowest amongst the 27 EU members.

Mortality due to cancer is low amongst men in Malta when compared to the EU. The age standardised death rate due to all cancers in Malta is the 3rd lowest only higher then Finland and Sweden. Mortality rates due to prostate cancer and testicular cancer in Malta are the lowest in the EU. Deaths due to lung cancer are also far lower then the EU average at approximately 45 per 100,000 compared to 60 per 100,000. Malta has the 4th lowest mortality rate due to lung cancer in the EU. On the other hand death due to colorectal cancer amongst men is higher than the EU at approximately 36 per 100,000 when compared to an average of approximately 24 per 100,000 in the EU. This rate is expected to decrease following the introduction of a national colorectal cancer screening programme.

The proportion of deaths amongst men due to diabetes in Malta is comparatively high ranking Malta third highest amongst the EU27 member states. Approximately 3% of deaths in men are due to diabetes. Deaths due to chronic lower respiratory diseases are also comparatively high at 35 per 100,000 compared to 29 per 100,000 in the EU 27.

Malta does not feature in the section on Mental Health in this report due to the fact that data was available in 2009 and the data quoted in the report is from 2008. From data available in 2009 the age standardised admission rate for men in Malta for depression and other mood affective disorders is 0.78 admissions per 1000, for schizophrenia it is 0.35 admissions per 1000 and for bipolar affective disorder it is 0.24 per 1000 admissions 2 .

o Accidents

Deaths amongst men due to external injury are comparatively low in Malta when compared to the 27 EU members. At approximately 6% of all deaths the proportion is 7th in the EU. Malta has the lowest age standardised death rate amongst men for traffic accidents at 6 per 100,000 compared to the EU27 average of 14 per 100,000. Malta has the second lowest number of fatal accidents amongst men in the EU.

Background to health data in Malta

Due to the centralised health care system, data collected from registries in Malta such as the National Cancer Registry and National Mortality Register have complete coverage of the Maltese Islands. Due to our small size health surveys in Malta also boast excellent coverage of the Maltese Islands. This can not be said of all other European countries since coverage of health registries is frequently limited to regions and figures are likely not to represent the whole country.

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