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超過七成的肛門癌、口咽癌及陰莖癌是由HPV（人類乳頭瘤病毒）所引致

香港醫學會「男士健康周」(Men’s Health Week)

推動及正視男士身心健康

在新冠肺炎的疫情影響下，市民越來越關注及重視個人健康。相對於女性，男性普遍缺乏健康知識，再加上不良的生活及飲食習慣、對健康警覺性較低、諱疾忌醫、因面子問題而不願承認及分享身體出現的毛病、傳統社會期望男士較剛強等，都令他們輕視潛在的健康風險，甚至忽略身體警號、拖延求醫，錯過最佳的求醫時間。而男性的疾病如前列腺、心血管等患病人數亦每年遞增。

為協助本港男性正視身心健康，香港醫學會於11月16至21日舉辦「男士健康周」(Men’s Health Week)，邀請不同專科領域的醫生，於網上進行研討會及與市民分享常見的疾病和「貼地」的健康話題，例如「糖尿攻略之守護心腎」、「男人五十尿頻頻，前列增生唔使騰」及「與癌症共存」等等。

根據衞生署及醫院管理局香港癌症資料統計中心的數據^1,2指出，男性疾病不但有年輕化趨勢，而且患病率亦按年遞增。以第三大的男性癌症前列腺癌為例，過去十年的新增數字上升六成，由2008年的1,369宗增加至2018年的2,204宗新增個案。雖然發病的年齡中位數是71歲，但50歲起的患病人數已上升至一成，所以年輕一族也絕對不要掉以輕心。故此香港醫學希望透過舉辦「男士健康周」，喚醒男士們、甚至社會人士關注男士健康。

香港醫學會會長蔡堅醫生表示：「我們期望透過是次健康周的不同講座，增加市民對疾病預防和管理的認識，並喚起男士對身心健康的關注，繼而提升香港市民整體的健康水平。」

該會指出，今次「男性健康周」所覆蓋的題目，均與現代男性的健康息息相關：

• 以HPV (Human Papillomavirus) 即人類乳頭瘤病毒為例，該病毒可以透過性接觸傳播，部分屬高風險基因型的病毒可引致細胞病變及癌症，男性雖然沒有患子宮頸癌的風險，但仍有機會感染生殖器官濕疣，和其他由HPV 引致的疾病，如肛門癌（九成以上與HPV有關）、口咽癌（七成與HPV有關）及陰莖癌（約七成與HPV有關），這些疾病過去二十年均有不斷上升的趨勢³。此外，男性帶菌者亦有機會將病毒傳播給伴侶。

• 早前香港醫學會就「香港應該在兒童免疫接種計劃 (HKCIP)中，為男孩加入免費接種HPV疫苗嗎？」進行問卷調查，結果126位醫生當中有72%建議為 11-15 歲的男孩接種 HPV 疫苗。支持建議的原因分別是「男孩也容易受到 HPV 感染」、「HPV疫苗已被證實是有效的」，以及「男孩感染 HPV 的後果也會很嚴重」。

• 根據政府統計處及衞生署資料指出，男士較容易患上慢性呼吸道、前列腺、糖尿病、中風、高血壓及心臟病等疾病，主要由於日常生活上有損健康的壞習慣，例如男士相對較多應酬，也不像女士們般注重體態等。此外，男士們就算出現健康有異，往往也因面子關係，傾向不告訴身邊的人而拖延求醫，導致延誤治療。

• 在心理層面方面，都市人生活和工作繁忙，精神壓力無可避免。而由於傳統觀念，男性承受來自家庭、社會等各方面的期望及壓力通常比女性要大，心理上的不健康又會導致生理上出現問題，例如抑鬱、胃潰瘍及心臟病等。另外，男性於面對壓力時，會較女性多進行高風險的活動如飲酒和吸煙，故亦有較大機率患上心血管及肺胸疾病。

• 同時，傳統社會期望男性表現剛強，因此在主動求醫者當中，男性人數少於女性，當中不少拒絕承認及接受自己患病，亦有不少要家人陪同、或是被強迫下才願意接受治療，因此較易錯過治療的「黃金時間」。當面對壓力時，男性亦較少會透過與其他人傾訴來舒緩壓力，一旦出現抑鬱等心理問題，自殺及酗酒的情況會比女性嚴重。

香港醫學會副會長麥肇敬醫生補充，「男士健康周」除了歡迎廣大市民免費參與外，亦有特別為本地及海外醫生而設的醫學講座，為他們提供與世界各地的醫生及學者進行更深入的醫學討論機會，期望進一步提高香港醫學界的水平。

香港醫學會舉辦「男士健康周」，希望藉此普及男性健康知識，宣導全港關注男性健康問題，以及提升男性自我保健意識，進一步提高男性的健康水平。同時亦希望政府關注男性健康，並增加投放資源在男性健康上，如將現時為女童接種HPV疫苗的安排推廣至男童等，讓男士們能夠保持強健的身心。

可登入以下網址下載是次活動照片：

https://creativegpcom-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/chun_chan_creativegp_com/Erz7InTCqudBg6JTl_k1ufkByr4roFObq6jKKxQMD-EDAg?e=0VyhLU

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如欲查詢是次研討會及講座的詳細內容，可登入https://www.thkma.org/menshealthweek/

有興趣參與的公眾人士，可登入https://www.facebook.com/hkmamenshealthweek收看

男性健康周 (Men’s Health Week)（公眾講座資訊）

參考資料：

1. 醫院管理局：香港2018年前列腺癌統計數字https://www3.ha.org.hk/cancereg/pdf/factsheet/2018/prostate_2018.pdf

2. 醫院管理局：香港癌症中心 - 香港十大癌症
   https://www3.ha.org.hk/cancereg/tc/top10incidence.html

3. Bailey HH et al.: Journal of Clinical Oncology: American Society of Clinical Oncology Statement: Human Papillomavirus Vaccination for Cancer Prevention, 2016; 34(15): 1803-1812 https://www.edcan.org.au/assets/edcan/files/JCO-2016-Bailey-JCO.2016.67.2014.pdf

傳媒查詢，請聯絡：

香港醫學會

葛樂詩小姐

電話：+852 3108 2512

手提：+852 6100 2276 

電郵：hkma@hkma.org

創思顧問集團
陳梓津先生

電話：+852 3159 2919  

手提：+852 9668 1833 

電郵：chun.chan@creativegp.com

Press Release

 HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) causes more than 70% of anal cancer, oropharyngeal cancer and penile cancer

The HKMA Launches Men’s Health Week to

Promote and Arouse Public Attention to Men's Physical and Mental Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised health awareness across the globe. But it has been noted that men, compared with women, often are unwilling and do not have the motivation to engage in health-seeking behaviours such as nutritional eating or regular body checks. Cultural and conventional norms on masculinity impact men’s choices in paying attention to their health.  Very often, men seem to demonstrate avoidance and negligence of healthcare which results in delayed diagnosis and treatments. Meanwhile, there is a growing number of men suffering from problems such as prostate and cardiovascular diseases.

To increase men’s awareness to their physical and mental health in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Medical Association (HKMA) is launching the ‘Men's Health Week’ from November 16 to 21, in which doctors from different specialties are invited to conduct online seminars and share common health topics with the public such as ‘Diabetes Management/ Hypertension’, ‘Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia’, ‘Cancer Survivorship’, just to name a few.

According to statistics^1,2 from the Department of Health and the Hong Kong Cancer Registry of the Hospital Authority (HKCaR), there is an increasing prevalence in the younger population on various men’s health issues. Take prostate cancer, the third leading cause of cancer death in men, as an example. The number of new cases increased by 60% in the past decade, from 1,369 cases in 2008 to 2,204 cases in 2018. Although the median age of incidence is 71, the number of patients aged 50 and above has risen to 10%. Therefore, young people should never take it lightly. And in response to these information, the Hong Kong Medical Association launches "Men's Health Week" in the hope to promote health awareness among the local male population.

‘Through various talks organized during the Men’s Health Week, we hope to increase the public’s awareness of disease prevention and management, as well as increasing men’s attention to their physical and mental health, thereby improving the overall health of the Hong Kong citizens,’ said Dr. CHOI Kin, President of the HKMA.

HKMA points out that all topics covered during the ‘Men’s Health Week’ are closely related to men’s health in the modern society, which include:

• Take HPV (Human Papillomavirus) as an example. The virus can be transmitted through sexual contact, some of which are high-risk genotypes that can cause cytopathic changes and cancer. Although men are not at risk of cervical cancer, they are still at risk of being infected by genital warts and other diseases caused by HPV, such as anal cancer (more than 90% is related to HPV), oropharyngeal cancer (70% is linked to HPV) and penile cancer (around 70% is associated with HPV). In the past two decades, there has been a rising trend in these diseases³. In addition, male carriers also have the risk of transmitting the virus to their partners.

• A survey by the HKMA conducted earlier on ‘Should Boys be offered HPV Vaccination in the Hong Kong Childhood Immunization Programme (HKCIP)’ shows that 72% of the 126 doctors recommended that school boys aged 11-15 to receive HPV vaccination. Those supporters considered that, ‘school boys can also be easily infected with HPV’, ‘HPV vaccine is proven to be highly efficacious’ and ‘the consequences of being infected with HPV is also serious for boys’.

• According to information from the Census and Statistics Department and the Department of Health, men are more likely to suffer from diseases including chronic respiratory problems, prostate, diabetes, stroke, hypertension and heart diseases due to their poor habits in daily lives. For example, men are relatively more business entertaining but they don’t pay much attention to fitness as women do. In addition, even if there are body signals, men are unwilling to telling others as a matter of reputation, leading to a delay in seeking medical treatment.

• From the psychological perspective, urbanite is living a hectic pace of life and work, it is therefore inevitable to suffer from mental stress. However, traditional values generally bring greater expectations and pressure to men in various aspects such as family and society. Poor mental health can lead to physical health issues such as depression, stomach ulcers and heart disease. When tackling with stress, men tend to engage in high-risk activities such as drinking and smoking more often in comparison to women. Consequently, they are also more likely to develop cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.

• Meanwhile, traditional society expects men to be strong, causing fewer male patients than female in taking the initiative to seek medical treatment. A number of them are reluctant to admit and accept that they have health problems, and many of them have to be accompanied by their family members or are forced to receive treatment. As a result, they are more likely to miss out the ‘golden period’ for treatment. In addition, men are also less likely to relieve stress through sharing with others. In case of depression and other psychological problems occur, cases of suicide and alcohol abuse will be more serious comparing to women.

Dr. MAK Siu King, Vice President of the HKMA, adds that general public are welcomed to participate during the ‘Men’s Health Week’ where medical education seminars will be also held for local and overseas doctors and scholars for in-depth discussion and to enhance the level of the medical profession in Hong Kong.

‘Men's Health Week’ is organized by the HKMA with an aim to promote men's health knowledge and arouse attention of the society to men's health problems, as well as self-care awareness of men in Hong Kong, in turn to enhance the overall men's health level. At the same time, the government is expected to pay more attention to men’s health and allocate more resources in this aspect, such as expanding the current arrangements of HPV vaccination from schoolgirls to school boys, so that men can maintain a healthy body and mind.

To learn more about the seminars and talks, please log on https://www.thkma.org/menshealthweek/

For general public who is interested to take part in the event can watch live on https://www.facebook.com/hkmamenshealthweek

Public Talk Information for Men’s Health Week

Reference:

1. Hospital Authority: Cancer Statistics in 2018
   https://www3.ha.org.hk/cancereg/pdf/factsheet/2018/prostate_2018.pdf

2. Hospital Authority: Hong Kong Cancer Registry – Top 10 Cancers in Hong Kong
   https://www3.ha.org.hk/cancereg/tc/top10incidence.html

3. Bailey HH et al.: Journal of Clinical Oncology: American Society of Clinical Oncology Statement: Human Papillomavirus Vaccination for Cancer Prevention, 2016; 34(15): 1803-1812 https://www.edcan.org.au/assets/edcan/files/JCO-2016-Bailey-JCO.2016.67.2014.pdf

For media enquiries, please contact:

Hong Kong Medical Association

Miss Irene GOT

Tel: +852 3108 2512

Mobile: +852 6100 2276 

E-mail: hkma@hkma.org

Creative Consulting Group Inc. Limited
Mr. Chun Chan

Tel: +852 3159 2919  

Mobile: +852 9668 1833 

E-mail: chun.chan@creativegp.com