Men’s poorer health outcomes persist worldwide but remain largely absent from health policy
Published: 29 October 2026
Men’s poor health and premature death are not driven by biology alone, but by the environments in which they live and work. Yet researchers say men’s health receives little attention in policy, leaving it vulnerable to powerful commercial and ideological interests
Men’s poor health and premature death are not driven by biology alone, but by the environments in which they live and work. Yet men’s health receives little attention in policy, leaving it vulnerable to powerful commercial and ideological interests, according to a three-paper series published in The Lancet.
The research team analysed Global Burden of Disease data from 1990 to 2023 and estimated that disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), that is, years of healthy life lost, were 16% higher among males than females in 2023.
In most countries, social and structural determinants of health, such as employment and education, strongly influence life expectancy and disability in men. Marginalisation, for example through incarceration or homelessness, further exacerbates these disparities.
The authors say that, although biology plays a role, several causes of adverse health in men are preventable. These preventable factors include social expectations of what it means to be a man, male-dominated power systems, and commercial influences.
Even so, policy attention has been limited: the first dedicated national men’s health policy was not adopted until 2008 in Ireland, and only a handful of countries have followed. The authors suggest this ongoing neglect has created a gap, one that companies and influencers in the manosphere can exploit to shape how men’s health is understood and addressed.
In response, the Series calls for men’s health to be embedded in existing structures, such as universal health coverage and health and social policies at all levels. It also urges better data – advancing men’s health requires the collection and analysis of intersectional disaggregated data so that structurally marginalised men are made visible and their needs addressed.
Professor Vittal Katikireddi, Professor of Public Health & Health Inequalities at the University of Glasgow, and an author of the study, said: “While men’s health is surprisingly poor, these poor health outcomes occur most often among men experiencing poverty, discrimination or other forms of social disadvantage. This research demonstrates the need for men’s health to be addressed within health policy, alongside broader efforts to improve the health for everyone.”
The authors also stress that attention to men’s health issues should not be viewed as a competition with efforts to improve women’s health or address wider gender injustices. They say progress is more likely when men’s health is framed as contributing to shared public goods, such as economic security and social cohesion, rather than as a separate claim on investment.
Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 29 October 2026
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