ABSTRACT
In most industrialized societies across the globe, men tend to have more opportunities, privileges, and power yet shorter life expectancies than women (Baker et al., 2014; Thorpe, Griffith, Gilbert, Elder, & Bruce, 2016). Although this difference is now seen as normal, it is a relatively recent phenomenon that emerged in the late 1800s (Beltrán-Sánchez, Finch, & Crimmins, 2015) and grew throughout the 20th century and into the new millennium. The Industrial Revolution, the advent of public health as a discipline, advances in medicine, and myriad social, economic, and health policy changes led to dramatic improvements in health across the world. Simultaneously, these technological advances also led to the emergence and persistence of sex differences in life expectancy and premature mortality. The recent emergence of sex differences in life expectancy is a fundamental conundrum underlying calls for the recognition of men’s health as an area of specialization (Meryn & Shabsigh, 2009; Porche, 2007). While there has been little sustained effort by policymakers or practitioners to improve men’s health in the United States or across the globe (Baker et al., 2014), there have been a number of milestones achieved in the effort to raise attention of men’s health as a global issue.
