Six vital health checks for men of all ages

Young men (18-40)

1. Mental health: Nearly one in eight men experience depression or anxiety, but less than half receive treatment.

“Men generally find it difficult to seek help – they can perceive it as a bit of a weakness,” explains Coyne. But asking for help is the first step in overcoming depression.

Health checks: Men should seek out their GP in the first instance. “Having a relationship with a primary care provider opens up lots of treatments – from medication to talking therapy and lifestyle advice.

“Sometimes, small tweaks can make a massive difference.”

2. Testicular cancer: This is more common in younger men. One of Coyne’s patients is a testicular cancer survivor, and he says, “My patient bravely asked his mates, ‘Do any of you ever not ejaculate?’ And they were like, ‘No, no, mate.’ That prompted him to check himself and he found a lump.

“Testicular cancer often has really good outcomes, but the earlier it’s caught, the treatment can be more targeted and less severe, which is why the self-checks are important.”

Health checks: There isn’t a screening programme, so it’s very important for men to check themselves regularly, at least once a quarter, usually in the bath or the shower.

Middle aged men (40-50+)

3. Cardiovascular disease: “Men typically get an earlier onset of coronary disease than women,” explains Coyne.

“Men are more predisposed to being apple-shaped – which is visceral fat, or fat around the organs. Visceral fat is linked with higher rates of both diabetes and cardiovascular disease, higher rates of certain cancers, and also fatty liver disease.”

Health checks: Get tested regularly for blood pressure, cholesterol, and BMI and waist circumference, which all assess cardiovascular risk.

4. Bowel cancer: Most bowel cancers begin as small, non-cancerous growths on the inner lining of the bowel wall, called polyps. If diagnosed early, more than 90% of people survive for five years or more. If men delay until symptoms are severe, survival rates drop to 10%.

Health checks: Bowel screening in Ireland is for anyone age 57 to 71. See HSE.ie

Older men (50-65+)

5. Prostate cancer: This is the most common cancer diagnosed in men in Ireland (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer), with over 4,000 men diagnosed each year

Coyne knows the risks only too well. “A friend and colleague of mine was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer which has metastasised. He put it down to aches and pains because he was getting a bit older, did sport and was working really hard. The key message here is not to ignore things.”

Health checks: “The main test for prostate cancer is a digital rectal exam,” says Coyne.

There is no national prostate cancer screening programme in Ireland.

Instead, PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) testing is done on an individual basis following a discussion with a GP about the risks and benefits

6. Abdominal aortic aneurysms: “Aortic aneurysms are a dangerous bulge or swelling in the lower part of the aorta, which is the main blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body – and are far more common in men than women,” explains Coyne.

Symptoms: “This is also a silent condition because an aortic aneurysm usually has no symptoms at all. But if an aortic aneurysm bursts, it causes massive – often fatal – internal bleeding.”

Health checks: Ireland does not have a national, population-based screening programme for abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Contact your GP in you have pain in your tummy that does not go away or keeps coming back, or feel a lump or pulsing sensation in your tummy.