HealthLumen
The Movember Institute of Men’s Health has just released a new report, “The Real Face of Men’s Health”, examining the state of men’s health in Canada.
In 2023, five conditions – coronary heart disease (CHD), colorectal cancer, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and suicide – were responsible for the greatest number of years of life lost to ill health among Canadian men.
HealthLumen was commissioned to carry out the health economic modelling for this report. Our research projected that in 2023 these 5 conditions, together, led to:
Figure 1: Direct healthcare costs in 2023 due to CHD, COPD, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and suicide in men in Canada.
Figure 2: Indirect costs in 2023 due to CHD, COPD, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and suicide in men in Canada.
A large proportion of these costs stem from preventable disease, caused by modifiable risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, inactivity, and poor diet. Our modelling showed that if all preventable cases of these five conditions had been avoided in men, Canada could have saved $12.4 billion CAD in 2023 alone – $4.3 billion CAD in direct healthcare costs and $8.1 billion CAD in non-healthcare costs – equivalent to the cost of running more than 12 hospitals in Canada for one year (1).
While not all preventable disease can be avoided, this research provides evidence that interventions that delay onset or improve disease management in these five conditions in men could have significant clinical and economic benefits – strengthening the case for investing in policy action that prioritises prevention.
Recent developments within Canada’s healthcare system point to some action towards implementing preventative measures, including the allocation of over $177 million to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health for the implementation of a Suicide Crisis Helpline (2), and increasing wellness promotion through community-led initiatives in provinces such as British Columbia (3). The Canadian Health Coalition also recently recommended that the federal government allocates $3.5 billion CAD to move towards more equitable access to disease management therapies for a range of conditions (4).
Movember’s Real Face of Men’s Health – Canada report outlines clear next steps towards avoiding preventable disease cases through a set of “Policy Asks.” These asks include building and evaluating programs that improve men’s uptake of screening, health checks, and earlier diagnosis for conditions such as prostate, lung, and bowel cancers and HPV. The report also calls for public health policy to address upstream avoidable risk factors, including gambling, substance use, and gender-based violence – all of which are linked to poorer outcomes in men’s health. These recommendations offer a roadmap for reducing the health and economic toll of preventable disease in Canadian men.
Find the full Real Face of Men’s Health – Canada report here.
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