ABSTRACT
The main reason for the shift had been the decline in communicable diseases in the younger age groups, but this positive change has been accompanied by a growth in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). A key feature of the majority of the health challenges facing men is that they are mostly preventable, with lifestyles and risk-taking principal factors. The low growth in the younger population is more marked in some areas of the world than others, with Eastern European countries and others such as Japan seeing a drop in birth rates to below sustainable growth levels. Healthy life expectancy (HALE), gives the number of years the population is expected to live in good health as opposed to the total years lived. Male excess of premature mortality is seen from conception onwards, with most intrauterine fetal deaths occurring with a male embryo, as a result of genetic malformation.
