Section 31-43-2. Findings of General Assembly

   The General Assembly makes the following findings:

   (1) There is a silent health crisis affecting the health and well-being of Georgia's men;

   (2) This health crisis is of particular concern to men, but is also a concern for women, and especially to those who have fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers;

   (3) Men's health is likewise a concern for employers who lose productive employees as well as pay the costs of medical care, and is a concern to state government and society which absorb the enormous costs of premature death and disability, including the costs of caring for dependents left behind;

   (4) The life expectancy gap between men and women has steadily increased from one year in 1920 to seven years in 1990;

   (5) Almost twice as many men than women die from heart disease, and 28.5 percent of all men die as a result of stroke;

   (6) In 1995, blood pressure of black males was 356 percent higher than that of white males, and the death rate for stroke was 97 percent higher for black males than for white males;

   (7) The incidence of stroke among men is 19 percent higher than for women;

   (8) Significantly more men than women are diagnosed with AIDS each year;

   (9) Fifty percent more men than women die of cancer;

   (10) Although the incidence of depression is higher in women, the rate of life-threatening depression is higher in men, with men representing 80 percent of all suicides cases, and with men 43 times more likely to be admitted to psychiatric hospitals than women;

   (11) Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the United States among men, accounting for 36 percent of all cancer cases;

   (12) An estimated 180,000 men will be newly diagnosed with prostate cancer this year alone, of which 37,000 will die;

   (13) Prostate cancer rates increase sharply with age, and more than 75 percent of such cases are diagnosed in men age 65 and older;

   (14) The incidence of prostate cancer and the resulting mortality rate in African American men is twice that in white men;

   (15) Studies show that men are at least 25 percent less likely than women to visit a doctor, and are significantly less likely to have regular physician check-ups and obtain preventive screening tests for serious diseases;

   (16) Appropriate use of tests such as prostate specific antigen (PSA) exams and blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol screens, in conjunction with clinical exams and self-testing, can result in the early detection of many problems and in increased survival rates;

   (17) Educating men, their families, and health care providers about the importance of early detection of male health problems can result in reducing rates of mortality for male-specific diseases, as well as improve the health of Georgia's men and its overall economic well-being;

   (18) Recent scientific studies have shown that regular medical exams, preventive screenings, regular exercise, and healthy eating habits can help save lives; and

   (19) A Commission on Men's Health is needed to investigate these findings and take such further actions as may be needed to promote men's health in this state.

Code 1981, § 31-43-2, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 126, § 1.