Irish men are far less likely to visit their doctor than women and this unfamiliarity with the doctor's surgery may be a deterrent when a visit is necessary. According to an editorial in the Irish Medical Journal, many factors contribute to the high level of mortality among Irish men but a significant one may be the "strikingly different" doctor-visiting practices between men and women.
Women are in regular contact with their doctors as toddlers, teenagers, adults, young parents and through the menopause. Irish women have also been traditionally in charge of bringing children and other relatives to the doctor.
"This pattern of frequent doctor contacts necessarily facilitates an easier relationship with the GP," said Dr Cormac McNamara, president of the European Union of GPs and former president of the Irish Medical Organisation.
After primary school, men - apart from acne or a sports injury - rarely visit their doctor until well into middle life. "It seems likely that this relative unfamiliarity with the general practitioner may itself act as a significant deterrent, distorting men's perception of their health needs and exacerbating the anxiety attendant on such contacts," said Dr McNamara.
He said this problem was a challenge to society but particularly to doctors who have done little to make their services more "user-friendly" to men.
Men appeared to be culturally conditioned to endure levels of distress or discomfort which were clearly warning signals warranting attention.
At a recent series of lectures, Dr McNamara said it was clear many of those attending had advanced prostatic disease. "They are only the tip of the iceberg which is all the more alarming given the wide range of effective treatment options available."