Health status

Health status is a holistic concept that is determined by more than the presence or absence of any disease. It is often summarised by life expectancy or self-assessed health status, and more broadly includes measures of functioning, physical illness, and mental wellbeing.

Life expectancy

Life expectancies provide an indication of the number of years of life remaining from a given point in time. Healthy life expectancy is measure of years lived without disability, disease or injury.

Males born in Australia in 2007–2009 could expect to live to the age of 79.3 years and 72.0 of those years would be lived in good health.

Life expectancies change over time, over the course of a person’s life, and between population groups:

24 years

Australian men born in 2009 can expect to live 24 years longer than males born in 1901.

• The life expectancy of males born in 2003 decreased with increasing remoteness: from 78.8 in Major cities to 75.4 in Remote and Very remote areas.
• Healthy life expectancy also decreased with increasing remoteness, by 4.0 years (at birth) and 2.1 years (at age 60).

3.4 years

The difference in life expectancy between a male born in a major city (78.8 years) and a male born in a remote area (74.4 years).

Self-assessed health status

Self-assessed health status is a generally reliable measure of health status, combining physical, social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing.

1 in 5

Australian males rated their health as excellent in 2007–08.

Mortality

Age and cause of death are important measures of the health status of a population. They can be used to assess the success of interventions to improve disease outcomes, signal changes in community health status and disease processes, and highlight inequalities in health status between population groups.

In 2008, there were 74,000 deaths among Australian males. The leading cause of death was ischaemic heart disease, followed by lung cancer and stroke.

Leading causes of death among males, 2008

Note: COPD occurs mostly in people aged 55 years and over. While it is occasionally reported in younger age groups, in those aged 55 years and over there is more certainty that the condition is COPD and not another respiratory condition. For this reason only people aged 55 years and over are included in this graph.

Source: The health of Australia's males Table A4.2.

Death rates increase with age and causes of death among males differ by age and population group:

72 to 100 is the ratio of prostate cancer deaths among overseas born males compared to Australian born males.

Cancer

Cancer describes a diverse group of several hundred diseases in which some of the body’s cells become abnormal and begin to multiply out of control. Some cancers are easily diagnosed and treated, others are harder to diagnose and treat, and most can be fatal. Cancers are named by the type of cell involved or the location in the body where the disease begins.

There were more than 64,000 new cases of cancer in 2008 and around 22,600 cancer deaths in 2007, among Australian males. Males accounted for 57% of all new cases of cancer in 2008 and 57% of all cancer deaths in 2007.

19,403

New cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in 2007, the most common cancer among males.

The majority of new cases of cancer among males in 2008 were prostate cancer (20,750 cases). Death rates from cancer are decreasing over time.

Mental health

Good mental health is characterised by a person’s ability to recognise their strengths and values, cope with daily stressors, and make a productive and positive contribution to the community. Poor mental health may adversely affect any or all of these areas and has consequences for an individual, their family and society.

In 2007, more than 3.8 million (48%) men aged 16–85 had experienced a mental disorder in their lifetime:

Nearly 1 in 2

Australian men have experienced a mental health problem.

18% of males aged 16–85 experienced symptoms of a mental health disorder in the 12 months to 2007.

Reproductive and sexual health

Reproductive health

Reproductive health includes measures of infertility, prostate disease, erectile dysfunction, low testosterone, and the concerns men have about developing and managing these conditions.

In 2003, one-third of surveyed men aged 40 and over reported they had at least one reproductive health issue. 20% of males were concerned with developing symptoms of low testosterone, the most commonly reported issue.

Reproductive health issues among males aged 40 and over, 2005

Note: COPD occurs mostly in people aged 55 years and over. While it is occasionally reported in younger age groups, in those aged 55 years and over there is more certainty that the condition is COPD and not another respiratory condition. For this reason only people aged 55 years and over are included in this graph.

Source: The health of Australia's males Table A4.10.

Sexual health

Sexual health includes the prevalence of sexual problems and sexually transmissible infection rates.

In the 12 months to 2001–2002, almost half of males aged 16–59 years had experienced some sexual difficulty lasting at least one month: 25% lacked interest in sex and 24% came to orgasm too quickly.

Nearly 1 in 2

Australian men have experienced a sexual difficulty.

The leading types of sexual difficulty differed by age: feeling anxious about ability to perform sexually was most common among males aged 16–19, while lacking interest in having sex was most common among males aged 50–59.

(a) Sexual difficulty experienced for at least one month in the 12 months before the study.
(b) Proportion of males in each age group. Note that males may report more than one sexual difficulty.

Source: Richters et al. 2003.