Introduction

A decade ago, the World Health Organization suggested that “increasing the effectiveness of adherence interventions may have a far greater impact on the health of the population than any improvement in specific medical treatments.”¹ A recent survey found that medication adherence rates over the course of 1 year were 24% for patients with depression, 36% with diabetes, 54% with epilepsy, 32% with dyslipidemia, and 42% with hypertension.² Poor adherence rates such as these contribute to the low rates of disease control in patients with diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and other chronic diseases.^3,4 Since chronic diseases are largely self-managed, effective patient self-management is critical to good health-related outcomes. To help patients self-manage their diseases, the family physician must work collaboratively with each patient to select, initiate, and modify therapy based upon the patient’s needs, interests, and capabilities. Just as there are important differences between children and adults, men and women often manifest diseases differently. In addition, men and women often deal with and manage their diseases in different ways. While “Men’s Health” is often considered to be a focus on the urogenital tract, we have sought to also focus on diseases that have a high prevalence in men, or where treatment in men may be different compared with women.

The first 2 articles in this supplement on men’s health concern 2 diseases increasingly encountered by men as they age. Dr. Martin Miner provides his thoughts about screening for and diagnosing benign prostatic hyperplasia, including strategies to promote patient report of symptoms and the role of the prostate specific antigen test. A case study is utilized to illustrate key considerations when selecting therapy and promoting patient self-management of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Dr. Gary Ruoff follows a patient from initial diagnosis of gout through selection of treatment for the acute flare and chronic treatment with urate-lowering therapy. A treatment plan is presented at each management step. In the next article, Dr. Richard Aguilar takes a case study approach to describe key risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus in men. He also discusses how men self-manage type 2 diabetes differently than women and provides insight as to how to address common psychosocial issues in men. Drs. Louis Kuritzky and José Díez review clinical experience with the two newest antiplatelet agents, prasugrel and ticagrelor. Answers are also provided to common questions and problems encountered with the use of antiplatelet agents in primary care. The next 2 articles focus on major modifiable risk factors contributing to cardiovascular disease. In the first, Dr. Michael Cobble focuses on patient assessment and treatment strategies to help men modify abnormal lipid levels and blood pressure for primary prevention of coronary heart disease. Finally, a more in-depth discussion of dyslipidemia is provided by Dr. Peter Toth, who begins by providing a brief overview of the current evidence regarding the long-term benefits of statin therapy, as well as his clinical perspective on the newest statin, pitavastatin. Dr. Toth also provides answers to many problems frequently encountered in the primary care management of patients with dyslipidemia using statin therapy.

It is my hope that the insights provided by these authors will be helpful to family physicians in managing their male patients with these common chronic diseases.