• Disease of the heart is 56% higher for Louisville Metro men than women
• Stroke is 15.8% higher among Louisville Metro men than women
• Men’s life expectancy is approximately seven years less than women
• Lung cancer is 62% higher for men than women
• Suicide rate for men is four times higher than women

The health disparities in Louisville for African-American reveal a greater concern for our community. 
 

• The age-adjusted lung cancer death rates are approximately 22% higher among African-American males than White males
• African-American males have the highest rate of smoking tobacco (30.9% in 2005)
• African-American males are less likely to attend a primary care physician regularly or report depression
• Incidence of newly diagnosed AIDS cases is highest among African-American males
• Homicide rates for the African-American males are more than eight times that of White males in Louisville

To improve the health of men in Louisville we must engage the community and develop a strategic plan to eliminate the barriers as well as examine the health disparities that exist and their root causes. In addition to taking personal responsibility for our behavior, we must also understand that the social conditions in which we are born affect our health outcomes. The challenge is to ultimately change our health behaviors, dispel health myths, and challenge beliefs to improve our health. We can no longer afford to ignore the statistical research that indicates health and longevity is correlated to social and economic status.