UK: Soaring number of boys are being born with genital disorders - and experts say gender-bending chemicals and fatty diets are to blame

Some experts blame gender-bending chemicals in the environment, commonly found in the plastic used in containers and our homes. It is said they inhibit male sex hormones in the womb, which can lead to defects in a developing male foetus. Others say the problem is linked to lifestyle factors - that eating more fat means we produce more of the female hormone oestrogen - which again, will affect how a baby in the womb grows.

Daily Mail, August 26, 2016

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released a new report examining vaccination trends among adolescents aged 13-17 years in 2015 and found that, despite rising numbers of tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) and meningococcal conjugate vaccinations (MenACWY), the number of HPV vaccines - particularly among adolescent boys - is lagging. 

"Since 2007, among females, HPV vaccination coverage has lagged behind Tdap and MenACWY coverage, with gaps of 28 and 17 percentage points, respectively, in 2014. HPV vaccination coverage among males has increased annually since 2011, but remains lower than coverage among females," the report says. In 2015, among males coverage with one or more HPV vaccine doses was 49.8% and 28.1% had three or more doses. Among females, 62.8% had one or more doses and 41.9% had three or more doses. "[These findings] suggests that HPV vaccine is not being routinely administered at visits when other recommended vaccines are given, and demonstrates ongoing missed opportunities for the prevention of HPV-associated outcomes, including cancers," the report says. "Routine age-appropriate administration of all recommended vaccines to adolescents aged 11-12 years, and strong, consistent recommendations by clinicians are important to maintaining high vaccination coverage for Tdap and MenACWY vaccines and improving HPV vaccination coverage."

Drug Store News, August 26, 2016

Teen boys' HPV-vaccination rate hits almost 50 percent, CDC says

The rate of HPV vaccination among teen boys in the United States surged in 2015, suggesting that more parents and physicians are embracing the message that it's as important for boys to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus as it is for girls. The  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported  Thursday that 49.8 percent of boys ages 13 to 17 had gotten at least one of the recommended three doses as of 2015, up 8 percentage points from 2014. The rate for teen girls rose more slowly: Almost 63 percent had gotten at least one dose, compared to 60 percent in 2014. Vaccine proponents were cheered by the sharp rise in vaccinations among boys, who as adults could be at greater risk of certain cancers. "The rate is increasing faster for them than it ever has for girls," said Erich Sturgis, a head and neck cancer surgeon at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Washington Post, August 25, 2016

Most of the victims of these overdoses were men and those aged 15 to 44, the researchers reported

Deaths from overdoses of the synthetic narcotic fentanyl have surged in recent years, U.S. health officials say in a troubling new report. As more fentanyl was sold illegally on the streets, the number of fatal overdoses jumped 79 percent in 27 states from 2013 to 2014, the government report found, while law enforcement seizures of the drug increased 426 percent in eight of those 27 states. The fentanyl crisis is being driven by products made illegally, not by the diversion of prescription fentanyl. Recently, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reported that synthetic fentanyl was showing up mixed with prescription narcotic painkillers, and "this is a new and emerging threat," said report author R. Matthew Gladden.

Health Day, August 25, 2016

GlaxoSmithKline has introduced Take 5 for Meningitis, an educational campaign that seeks to promote meningitis awareness. The launch took place earlier this month. Jamie Schanbaum, a meningitis survivor; Anne Geddes, a recognized photographer; and Leonard Friedland, M.D., Vice President, Director Scientific Affairs and Public Health, Vaccines North America for GSK, spearheaded the launch of the campaign at BlogHer2016 in California. Take 5 for Meningitis aims to address the growing number of young adults who have not yet been vaccinated for five groups of meningitis. The campaign will take advantage of digital media platforms and launch educational events as a means of educating young adults and their parents. More importantly, Take 5 for Meningitis will encourage them to get the necessary immunizations, increasing the vaccination rates.

Market Exclusive, August 25, 2016

Adolescent males attending therapeutic boarding school for troubled young men often adopted feminine qualities, displaying a type of "hybrid masculinity," according to research presented at the 2016 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. However, researcher Jessica A. Pfaffendorf, a PhD candidate at the University of Arizona School of Sociology, noted that the teenaged men did not fully embrace their new feminine demeanors, which included speaking openly and at length about their emotions and admitting past wrongs. Instead, they combined masculine and feminine styles for their own personal benefit, namely to assert that they were in control of their emotions and, therefore, were more mature than their peers.

Helio, August 25, 2016

WHY do we have to resort to hanging a banner depicting a giant pair of jocks from a prominent landmark in order to get Bendigo men thinking about their health?

Bendingo Advertiser, August 25, 2016

AUSTRALIA: Why guys are getting personal online - the social media campaign driven by the boys

FORGET the ice bucket challenge, this is the new campaign flooding social media and men are taking the lead. Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are filling up with selfies from men saying 'it's OK to talk'. The picture is accompanied with the words along the lines of; "The single biggest killer of men aged under 45 is suicide. In 2014, 4623 took their own life in Australia. That's 12 men every day, 1 man every two hours! 41% of men who contemplated suicide felt they could not talk about their feelings. Only 20% of people know that suicide is the most likely cause of death for men age under 45. Let's show men across the world that #IT'SOKAYTOTALK take a selfie tag your friends and let's get the message out."

News AU, August 24, 2016

Giving children antibiotics increases their risk of diabetes - with boys 'particularly vulnerable'

Researchers from New York University compared the health of mice given several 'courses' of antibiotics when young with creatures not given any drugs. Those given three antibiotic treatments by the age of six weeks - roughly two and a half years old in human terms - were twice as likely to develop diabetes as those not given antibiotics.  Males may be particularly vulnerable, the journal Nature Microbiology reports.

Daily Mail, August 22, 2016

Researchers analyzed surveys from 9,000 young married men and women in the United States taken annually over a 15-year period, and evaluated each participant's response on income, health and psychological wellness. They found that the more economic responsibility a man had in his marriage, the more his psychological well-being and health declined. The findings suggest that   men who are primary breadwinners   - and who, in essence, fulfill the culturally held expectation that husbands should bring home more money than their wives - are actually worse off than men who earn salaries that are more equal to those of their wives.

Live Science, August 22, 2016

The Weekly News Roundup is produced by The Partnership for Male Youth and is released every Monday. 

For more information contact Dennis J. Barbour, JD. News Roundup editor and President/CEO of the Partnership, at [email protected].