Adapting the health-care system to the needs of the aging male

Many studies show a better state of health in women than men and indicate that life expectancy for men is significantly shorter than that for women in every region of the world. Yet, the health-care systems have so far made surprisingly little effort to reduce these pronounced differences. Consequently, investigation into the state of health of the aging male and relevant health care is breaking new ground in science. From a scientific perspective, the conspicuous differences in physical conditions can be ascribed to a number of causes. Medical, social, and psychological factors are evidently linked by complex interactions out of which interdisciplinary approaches for improving the state of health, in particular that of older men, are derived. Fundamental research questions, necessary for the adaptation of sex-specific health care to benefit both sexes, can then be developed.