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Dr. Philip Iozzi practices at the Absolute Primary Care Family Practice in Cranberry, and serves on the medical staff of UPMC Passavant. North Hills Monthly Magazine talked with Dr. Iozzi about a wide range of men’s health issues, including their reluctance to visit a doctor for regular checkups.

By Jack Etzel

North Hills Monthly Magazine: How young should men, or even boys, begin to have physicals and pay attention to their own health? I would guess they think less about that than girls and women.

Dr. Philip Iozzi: That’s true. Boys, including men, seem more reluctant to see a physician. Like a lot of other things, men tend to put things off. Teenage boys will come here when they need to get a required sports physical, but that’s about the only reason. We should be seeing everyone annually until about the age of 16. Then we should see them every few years throughout their 20s and 30s, every two years in their 40s and every year after 50.

NHMM: Regarding grown men, what are some of the leading threats to one’s health that may be prevented by seeing a physician on some kind of regular basis?

Dr. Iozzi: Smoking is huge. That bad habit nearly always begins as a teenager or in the young 20s. They don’t see this as a serious problem, because the effects don’t usually catch up with them until they’re in their 40s and older. Another health threat is obesity. It’s another one that catches up with you down the road.

In addition, family history plays a big role. When all men turn 50, we should be checking for signs of prostate cancer. He should also get a screening for colorectal cancer starting at age 50. But, if you have a family history of heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer or colon cancer, these things fall into a whole other risk category. Those with a family history of any of these should start their screenings in their 40s. And, we have to emphasize about a family history of cardiovascular disease. That remains a big risk.

NHMM: These that you mentioned have no symptoms, that is to say, nothing that would even give him a clue.

Dr. Iozzi: No, and I would also add high cholesterol. Men are walking around with cholesterol levels that are astronomically high but feeling fine. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t walking time bombs. They are. The same thing goes for high blood pressure. That’s why they call high blood pressure, or hypertension, the silent killer.

NHMM: How do you convince the reluctant man to see a doctor?

Dr. Iozzi: A man too often takes better care of his car than he does himself. If he gets his oil changed in his car, he doesn’t put that off until the oil engine light comes on. He does that on a regular basis, and the same should go for his own health. It just doesn’t strike him as an important priority.

NHMM: If you read the obituaries, you see that women, in general, are still out-living men. Why is that?

Dr. Iozzi: I was doing some reading recently and saw that the average life expectancy for a man is 74 years. I found that to be quite low. Women have a life expectancy between 81 to 83. Of course, we both know men and women who live much longer than those statistics. No one really knows exactly why that gap exists. The hormonal issue plays a roll by providing some cardiovascular protection from the female hormones that men don’t get.

NHMM: We guys got a little cheated on the cardiovascular front line.

Dr. Iozzi: Well, a little. But, in addition, there are lifestyle differences. This does not apply to all men, I’m not stereotyping, but when it comes to health matters, many simply don’t take care of themselves. We tend to get that center obesity, the spread around the middle that gives a man a higher risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Other things that skew the difference between men and women’s longevity is that men take more risks, and have more accidental injuries than women. Three times the number of men die in automobile accidents than women.

NHMM: Are men different types of patients than women?

Dr. Iozzi: They often don’t ask questions. It’s confidential, and that’s why we’re here. Men don’t like to talk about erectile dysfunction, for example. We think that we’re so mentally strong that can’t happen to us. As a physician we’ve heard and seen everything already, so no man should ever be embarrassed to ask any question about anything

I can add that many men don’t like to talk about stress, depression or insomnia. Someday I want to write a book titled “Slow Down, America.” The work environment is so high-paced that we can see it in a family practice. Many men are type-A personalities and goal-driven. That can be a positive thing until it affects their lives, their relationships and their sleeping. I wish more men would talk about these things. We can help.

NHMM: Any final thoughts?

Dr. Iozzi: Let me think. Yes. Every man should get a colonoscopy! That’s not a big deal, and taking off that one day could prolong his life by many years.