Creatinine and Cystatin C: A Measure of Renal Function in Men With Testosterone-Induced Muscle Hypertrophy.

Creatinine (Cr) is often used as a standalone gold standard marker of kidney function. Cystatin C (Cys C) is a less physiologically labile marker of renal function, particularly in certain subgroups. Herein, we analyze trends in cystatin C as compared to creatinine in men on testosterone replacement therapy with varying body mass indices and percent body fat (PBF). This retrospective analysis observes 227 men with testosterone-induced muscle hypertrophy who visited a men's health tertiary care clinic. All participants were characterized as competitive or recreational athletes. In patients with a normal body mass index (BMI), there was no clinically significant correlation between Cr and Cys C. Slight correlation was seen with overweight (R2 = .27) patients (p < .0001) and obese (R2 = .29) patients (p < .0001). Patients with PBF of 0%-10% (n = 22) exhibited minimal (R2 = .23) positive correlation between Cys C and Cr (p = .03). Positive correlation between Cys C and Cr in patients with PBF of 10%-20% was clinically negligible (R2 = .17, n = 87), modest (R2 = .49) in patients with PBF of 20%-30% (n = 42), and evident (R2 = 1.00) in patients >30% (n = 3) (p < .0001, respectively). Cystatin C measurements display less variance compared with creatinine at differing BMI distinctions. At the upper limit of BMI or PBF in our patient population, cystatin C exhibits minimal to moderate variability compared with creatinine.

Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Abuse Causes Cardiac Dysfunction.

This article aims to review available literature evidence about the harmful effects of long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) abuse on the heart. A review of 11 existing literature articles regarding this association has been used in the development of this review article. There is increasing medical literature documentation of the eventual harmful effect of AAS misuse or abuse on the heart. Individuals who misuse these steroids are susceptible to significant debilitation and loss of productive person-hours, and in severe cases, it can lead to death. Raising awareness about this potentially deleterious effect of anabolic steroids is crucial to prevent its misuse or abuse.

Coming to Grips With Benign Prostate Enlargement or Prostate Cancer in Contemporary Japan: Readings From a Cancer-Self.

This article explores how a group of 35 Japanese men comprehend and verbalize the somatic experience embedded in dealing with benign prostate enlargement, or disquiet/discomfort of developing prostate cancer. Grounded in an adaptation of the sexual scripts theorizing, a set of in-depth, semistructured individual interviews were conducted through a LINE-app videocall from 2021 to 2023. Outcomes of interview were analyzed through a conversational approach, and presented by using three axes: the body, gender, and sexuality. An understanding of the Japanese-civilized-self has rendered somatic knowing problematic and pretended ignorance a strategy to deal with conversations about a condition involving the genitals and body waste. The body refers to a cancer-self who copes with ignorance of the prostate's anatomy and physiology, the-mechanics-of-urine, and medication/treatment side-effects. Gender is concerned with a cancer-self who grapples with an ailment that "emasculates the self," and the feminization of care as well as infantilization at medical facilities. Sexuality implies a cancer-self who bears scripts related to asexuality, medication/treatments that affect libido and penile erections, and a tarnished sexual reputation as a "heterosexual man" because prostate stimulation has been associate with homosexuality.

Humor-Based Messaging in Testicular Cancer Awareness Campaigns: A Comparative Critical Review.

Extensive research showcases the extent and efficacy of humor-based messaging in general health promotion. However, the work describing humor's use within testicular cancer (TC) awareness is less developed. The aim of this comparative critical review was to determine the impact of using humor-based messaging in TC awareness campaigns to achieve a baseline assessment from which future research can be modeled. A literature search was conducted using seven databases to locate relevant literature. Three research questions guided this investigation: (1) To what extent has humor been used in TC awareness campaigns? (2) What does the literature reveal about the use of humor-based messaging on relevant health outcomes? (3) What are the limitations within current TC awareness strategies? Six studies were included in the review, of which three directly assessed the use of humor in TC awareness vis-à-vis intervention designs. Humor-based strategies were implemented to enhance knowledge of TC and testicular self-examination (TSE) procedures, reduce anxiety surrounding detection threat, and promote TSE. The rhetoric provided to men via various health interventions relied on humor and slang to promote TSE among males. Despite the small sample size of the included studies, this review determined that humor may be useful in reducing uncomfortable feelings surrounding TSE, increasing awareness of TC, and promoting TSE. When using humor-based messaging, however, the audience and type of humor implemented must be considered. Limited research exists assessing the long-term impact humor in TC promotion on health behavioral changes, easing anxieties related to detection, and increased self-efficacy surrounding TSE.

Fertility Health Knowledge in U.S. Adults: Men Narrowing the Knowledge Gap.

Much of young people's fertility health knowledge has been limited to avoiding sexually transmitted infections and preventing pregnancy thus lacking what is necessary to support future overall health as well as reproductive goals. This study assesses university students' knowledge related to fertility health factors to verify consistencies and discrepancies in fertility health knowledge, with a sub-assessment focusing on men's knowledge. The Fertility Health Knowledge survey was delivered to 17,189 students at three American universities. Twenty percent or 546 of the 2,692 participants were male. The 30-question survey addresses knowledge of modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors on fertility health in men and women, and four questions regarding fertility intentions. Across all 30 questions, 63% of female responses were correct and 61% of male responses were correct. For 10 questions, less than 70% of males and females answered correctly, with men answering correctly more often than females for six of the questions. Males exhibited more knowledge regarding male fertility. Knowledge of fertility health was consistently limited, regardless of site or demographics. Men demonstrated improved overall fertility health knowledge and more knowledge regarding male factors. There are still considerable gaps in knowledge of modifiable risk factors that may impact fertility health and future overall health. Fertility health promotion through education should be comprehensive and widely available in secondary schools, colleges, and universities. As well, increased education regarding fertility health in primary care settings should become the norm-with male inclusion as a standard of their care.

A Call to Action to Review the USPSTF's Recommendation for Testicular Self-Examination.

We urge the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to call for a formal review of the evidence regarding testicular self-examination (TSE). Twelve years have since passed since the evidence was last formally analyzed where normally re-reviews occur in 5-year cycles. If they would decide to move forward with this action, we ask for the USPSTF to review their methods for establishing recommendations to optimize their rating system operationalization process. Finally, emerging evidence demonstrates a net positive effect of TSE. This stands in contrast to the assertions of TSE's supposed harm that is prevalent in the literature as well as the rationale behind the USPSTF's "D" rating of TSE.

Health Literacy in Male-Dominated Occupations.

Low levels of health literacy are associated with poorer health outcomes. Both individual- and social-level factors have been identified as predictors of low health literacy, and men are known to have lower health literacy than women. Previous research has reported that men working in male-dominated occupations are at higher risk of accidents, injury, and suicide than other population groups, yet no study to date has examined the effect of gendered occupational contexts on men's health literacy. The current article examined the association between occupational gender ratio and health literacy among Australian males. The Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health (Ten to Men) was used to examine associations between occupational gender ratio (measured in Wave 1) and health literacy (measured in Wave 2) across three subscales of the Health Literacy Questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used and showed that the more male dominated an occupational group became, the lower the scores of health literacy were. Results for the different subscales of health literacy for the most male-dominated occupational group, compared to the non-male-dominated group were: ability to find good health information, (Coef. -0.80, 95% CI [-1.05, -0.54], p < .001); ability to actively engage with health-care providers, (Coef. -0.35, 95% CI [-0.62, -0.07], p = .013); and feeling understood and supported by health-care providers, (Coef. -0.48, 95% CI [-0.71, -0.26],p = < .001). The results suggest the need for workplace interventions to address occupation-level factors as an influence on health literacy among Australian men, particularly among the most male-dominated occupational groups.

Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer remains the most common and second most deadly cancer diagnosed amongst U.S. men. External beam radiotherapy is a standard-of-care definitive treatment option for localized prostate cancer and historically constituted an 8-9-week treatment course comprised of 39-45 doses of 1.8-2.0 Gy each (conventional fractionation, CF). Based on the notion that prostate cancer may respond favorably to a higher dose per day, considerable research efforts have been focused on characterizing the safety and efficacy profile of shorter and shorter radiation courses. Ultrahypofractionation (UHF) involves condensing the radiation course into just 5-7 treatments of 6-8 Gy each. When utilizing modern techniques that allow the precise sculpting of a dose distribution that delivers high doses to the prostate and lower doses to surrounding normal tissues over five or fewer treatments, this treatment is called stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Two randomized trials (HYPO-RT-PC and PACE-B) have compared UHF to longer radiation courses. The former demonstrated that UHF and CF have similar long-term toxicity and efficacy, while the latter demonstrated that modern SBRT has equivalent short-term toxicity as well. A separate report from a consortium of studies data provides prospective, albeit nonrandomized, data supporting the longer-term safety and efficacy of SBRT specifically. Thus, mounting high-level evidence suggests that SBRT is an acceptable standard care of option for men with localized prostate cancer.

Efficacy and Safety of Combination Comprising Tamsulosin and PDE5-Is, Relative to Monotherapies, in Treating Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Erectile Dysfunction Associated With Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Meta-Analysis.

We report safety and efficacy of a combination therapy, comprising tamsulosin and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5-Is), relative to monotherapy, to ascertain its potential in treating lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and erectile dysfunction (ED) secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) after 3 months' treatment. We screened MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register databases, for randomized controlled trials, and obtained eight articles comprising 1144 participants. Results showed that the combination group had superior outcomes with regard to International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and Qmax, compared to the other two groups. The combination group also had superior efficacy with regard to International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) than the tamsulosin group, but not over the PDE5-Is group. Further, the combination group showed better efficacy in IPSS voiding and quality of life (QoL) compared to the PDE5-Is group. An analysis of safety outcomes revealed extremely high adverse events (AEs) and pain in the combination group. However, therapy discontinuation due to pain and AEs did not increase with increase in AEs. Overall, our findings indicate that a combination of tamsulosin and PDE5-Is is superior to individual tamsulosin and PDE5-Is monotherapy, with regard to improving LUTS and ED secondary to BPH.

The Impact of Incentives on Weight Control in Men: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Overweight and obese men were recruited to a 6-month, randomized controlled weight loss trial, which compared the Gutbusters weight loss program alone to the Gutbusters program with incentives for successful weight loss. The intervention was delivered primarily online, with weekly in-person weight collections. Gutbusters was designed using a template from the REFIT intervention and encouraged participants (N = 102, 47.0 ± 12.3 years, 32.5 kg/m2) to make six 100-calorie changes to their typical daily diet for a total of 42 changes per week. Weight loss was significantly greater in the Gutbusters+Incentive group compared to the Gutbusters alone group at both 12 and 24 weeks (p's = < .01). The Gutbusters+Incentive group's a mean weight loss was 9.9 pounds at 12 weeks (95% CI: 6.9, 12.9) and 8.4 pounds at 24 weeks (95% CI: 3.9, 13.0). The Gutbusters alone group mean weight loss was 3.7 pounds at 12 weeks (95% CI: -.06, 7.5) and 3.4 pounds at 24 weeks (95% CI: -2.2, 9.0). This study adds to the literature of behavioral weight programs that are designed for men. Unlike the majority of previous male weight loss interventions, which were designed with an intervention comparison to a no treatment or waitlist control, Gutbusters was implemented as a comparative effectiveness trial, which will help bolster the evidence base for real-world application.

The Role of the Medicaid Expansion in the Use of Preventive Health Care Services in California Men.

Men's use of preventive care services may be constrained due to a number of factors including lack of health care insurance. California used the Medicaid expansion provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to enroll low-income men between the ages of 18 and 64 years in publicly funded health insurance. Most studies on the effect of the ACA on health care services have focused on racial/ethnic differences rather than gender. Data from the California Health Interview Survey for the 2015-2016 survey period were used to model the use of preventive health care services in the year prior to interview. Population weights were used in the analysis which was done using PROC SURVEY LOGISTIC in SAS software, version 9.4. The sample consisted of men between the ages of 18 and 64 years (N = 6,180). Of these 66% (n = 4,088) reporting receiving any preventive care services in the year prior to interview. The largest proportions of respondents fell into the youngest group aged 18-25 (17%) followed by the oldest group aged 60-64 (16.9%); 43% reported they were married, 57% had incomes at greater than 300% of the federal poverty level. There was no effect of race or ethnicity on receiving preventive care services. Having a chronic condition such as hypertension or diabetes was associated with a greater odds of receiving preventive care. Expanding Medicaid to include low-income men below the age of 65 is associated with increased use of preventive health care, especially among those with chronic conditions.

Strong Men, Strong Communities: Design of a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Diabetes Prevention Intervention for American Indian and Alaska Native Men.

Type 2 diabetes is a serious global epidemic that disproportionately affects disadvantaged populations. American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIs/ANs) have the highest rates of diabetes in the nation with a prevalence of 14.7% in 2018, more than twice that of non-Hispanic Whites. AI/AN men have the highest prevalence of diagnosed type 2 diabetes (14.5%) compared to non-Hispanic Black (11.4%), non-Hispanic Asian (10.0%), and non-Hispanic White (8.6%) men. Several landmark clinical trials have shown that lifestyle interventions can effectively prevent or delay the onset of diabetes among those at risk, including in AIs/ANs. Despite positive outcomes for AIs/ANs in these studies, very few were men. To date, there have been no concerted efforts to recruit and retain AI/AN men in interventions that promote weight loss and healthy lifestyles to prevent diabetes, and they remain underrepresented in these types of studies. This article describes the design and methods of the first randomized controlled trial of a diabetes prevention program with a study sample comprised entirely of AI/AN men. Research to date has demonstrated suboptimal patterns of recruitment and retention of AI/AN men, resulting in their virtual absence in health and intervention research. Effective methods to recruit and retain AI/AN men, and potential benefit gained from participation in diabetes prevention research, are unknown for this population who experience a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes. The study design presented in this article offers promising insights to help remedy these important shortcomings in the science of recruitment and retention of AI/AN men in research.

Men's Health-Related Magazines: A Retrospective Study of What They Recommend and the Evidence Addressing Their Recommendations.

Magazines have traditionally been an effective medium for delivering health media messages to large populations or specific groups. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we evaluated nine issues from 2016 publications of American men's health-related magazines (Men's Health and Men's Fitness) to evaluate their recommendations and determine their validity by examining corresponding evidence found in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. We extracted health recommendations (n = 161) from both magazines and independently searched and evaluated evidence addressing the recommendations. We could find at least a case study or higher quality evidence addressing only 42% of the 161 recommendations (80 recommendations from Men's Health and 81 recommendations from Men's Fitness). For recommendations from Men's Health, evidence supported approximately 23% of the 80 recommendations, while evidence was unclear, nonexistent, or contradictory for approximately 77% of the recommendations. For recommendations from Men's Fitness, evidence supported approximately 25% of the 81 recommendations, while evidence was unclear, nonexistent, or contradictory for approximately 75% of the recommendations. The majority of recommendations made in men's health-related magazines appear to lack credible peer-reviewed evidence; therefore, patients should discuss such recommendations with health-care providers before implementing.

The Stroman Effect: Participants in MEN Count, an HIV/STI Reduction Intervention for Unemployed and Unstably Housed Black Heterosexual Men, Define Its Most Successful Elements.

Interventionists often prioritize quantitative evaluation criteria such as design (e.g., randomized controlled trials), delivery fidelity, and outcome effects to assess the success of an intervention. Albeit important, criteria such as these obscure other key metrics of success such as the role of the interactions between participants and intervention deliverers, or contextual factors that shape an intervention's activities and outcomes. In line with advocacy to expand evaluation criteria for health interventions, we designed this qualitative study to examine how a subsample of Black men in MEN Count, an HIV/STI risk reduction and healthy relationship intervention with employment and housing stability case management for Black men in Washington, DC, defined the intervention's success. We also examined the contextual factors that shaped participation in the study's peer counseling sessions. We conducted structured interviews with 38 Black men, ages 18 to 60 years (M = 31.1, SD = 9.33) who completed at least one of three peer counseling sessions. Analyses highlighted three key themes: (a) the favorable impact of Mr. Stroman, the lead peer counselor, on participants' willingness to participate in MEN Count and disclose their challenges-we dubbed this the "Stroman Effect"; (b) the importance of Black men intervention deliverers with relatable life experiences; and (c) how contextual factors such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, needs for housing and employment services and safe spaces to talk about challenges, and absentee fathers shaped participation. We discuss the study's implications for sustainable programs after funding ends and future multilevel health interventions to promote health equity for poor urban Black men.

Educational Attainment and Health Behaviors Among Young Adult Men: Racial/Ethnic Disparities.

Although promoting health behaviors are important for sustaining physical and mental health, little is known about young adult men's health behaviors or how they vary across race and ethnicity. This study examines the impact of educational attainment on health behaviors across young adult men, and differences in the association across race/ethnicity. This study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Children and Young Adults. The final sample consists of 3,115 non-Hispanic White males, 1,617 African American males, and 1,144 Hispanic males. The average age of the participants was about 27 years old. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Educational attainment was associated with both food intake and preventive health care visits. Those who received a higher education were less likely to eat fast food than those who did not (ß = -.37, p < .001) and were more likely to eat fruits and vegetables (ß = .77, OR = 2.15, p < .01; ß = 6.44, OR = 1.91, p < .10). Higher education was also positively associated with routine eye exams and health check-ups (ß = .50, OR = 1.64, p < .01); ß = 1.84, OR = 6.29, p < .01). This study identified interaction effects between educational attainment and African Americans for predicting fast food intake (ß = .57, p < .05). Education is one way to improve health behaviors and to lessen racial/ethnic disparities in health behaviors. Specifically, promoting health behaviors in education should target African American men to improve their perception toward the importance of healthy food intake.

Enrollment Challenges: Recruiting Men to Weight Loss Interventions.

Obese men are at an increased risk of chronic disease and are far less likely than women to attempt weight loss. There is a need to successfully recruit men to weight loss clinical trials. Overweight and obese men were recruited to a 6-month, randomized, controlled weight loss trial. Initial recruitment efforts were aimed at men in the workplace with less than or equal to 2 years of college education. After unsatisfactory interest from men and businesses alike, recruitment strategy shifted to enroll men outside the workplace with any educational background. Recruitment methods included word of mouth, email and website advertisements, printed posters in local businesses and doctors' offices, Facebook ads, and a 1-week newspaper ad campaign. Initial interest and enrollment was negligible with only 35 men enrolled in the first 7 months. The launch of a 1-week newspaper advertisement was the most useful recruitment technique and 102 overweight/obese men were successfully enrolled. Study retention remained high throughout the Gutbusters program, indicating targeted, effective recruitment, and not weight loss interest, may be the largest barrier to trial participation for overweight and obese men.

Couple-focused interventions for men with localized prostate cancer and their spouses: A randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: Few couple-focused interventions have improved psychological and relationship functioning among men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer and their spouses. This study compared the impact of intimacy-enhancing therapy (IET), a general health and wellness intervention (GHW), and usual care (UC) on the psychological and relationship functioning of localized prostate cancer patients and their partners. Relationship length, relationship satisfaction, and patient masculinity were evaluated as moderators. DESIGN: This study was a randomized clinical trial with three study arms and four assessment time points. METHODS: A total of 237 patients and partners were randomly assigned to receive IET, GHW, or UC. Participants completed measures of psychological functioning and relationship satisfaction at baseline, 5 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post-baseline. Primary outcomes were psychological adjustment, depression, cancer-specific distress, cancer concerns, and relationship satisfaction. RESULTS: Spouses in IET showed greater increases in relationship satisfaction than spouses in GHW and UC between the baseline and 5-week follow-up. Among patients in longer relationships, significant increases in psychological adjustment were found in both treatments compared to UC. Among spouses in longer relationships, psychological adjustment increased in both IET and UC but declined in GHW. CONCLUSIONS: Intimacy-enhancing therapy did not show an impact on general or cancer-specific distress, but did show an early impact on relationship satisfaction among spouses. IET was superior to UC for patients in longer relationships. It will be important for researchers to understand which couple-focused interventions benefits both patients and spouses and to identify characteristics of patients, partners, and couples who may not benefit from psychological treatments. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer report lower health-related quality of life and both patients and spouses report elevated distress. Relationship communication plays a role in couples' psychological adaptation to prostate cancer. Couple-focused interventions have illustrated an impact on relationship communication. There are no studies comparing different couple-focused interventions. What does this study add? Intimacy-enhancing therapy was not superior to no treatment or a comparison treatment for the broad range of psychological and relationship outcomes. Intimacy-enhancing therapy was superior to no treatment for patients in longer-term relationship. The general health and wellness intervention was not beneficial for men in shorter relationships and for men who did not endorse traditional masculine norms.

Patient Attitudes Toward Testicular Prosthesis Placement After Orchiectomy.

Orchiectomy is the standard of care for many testicular conditions. Testicular prosthesis placement (TPP) can mitigate psychosocial burden, restore self-image, and improve quality of life for patients requiring orchiectomy. Limited data exist regarding patient attitudes and counseling on TPP in the United States. The objective of this study was to characterize patient experiences after TPP, rationale for pursuing/declining TPP, and satisfaction levels. Patients with a history of urologic conditions warranting orchiectomy were identified and sent an anonymous survey addressing demographics, pre/post counseling, attitudes toward TPP, satisfaction rates, and postoperative complications. Sixteen percent (76/480) of patients completed the survey. Of these, 50.8% (32/63) undergoing orchiectomy were counseled by their surgeon about TPP, and 22.2% (14/63) received a prosthesis. The most common reasons for declining TPP included lack of concern for cosmetic appearance and lack of counseling. Leading reasons for pursuing TPP included improving self-confidence and cosmetic appearance. Although 71% (10/14) of patients were satisfied with TPP, they did highlight areas for improvement. Twenty percent (2/10) felt their implant was too high, 60% (6/10) felt their implant was too firm, 10% (1/10) endorsed discomfort during sex, and 30% (3/10) felt that TPP did not match their size expectations. Despite these findings, 71% (10/14) reported that they would have TPP again and 79% (11/14) would recommend TPP to others. TPP improves body image and quality of life following orchiectomy. Provider counseling plays an important role in influencing a patient's decision to undergo TPP. Areas of improvement include implant positioning and more effective replication of testicular consistency.

A Chinese Cross-Sectional Study on Symptoms in Aging Males: Prevalence and Associated Factors.

The Aging Male Symptoms (AMS) scale is a questionnaire designed for assessing health-related quality of life and aging-related symptoms in men. Additional knowledge of the severity of aging symptoms in males revealed by high AMS scores and the factors associated with it in the Chinese population is required. A nationally representative prevalence and risk factor estimate of AMS scores was performed to identify the associated factors for AMS severity in China. Men aged between 35 and 70 years were recruited at 33 study centers in 21 provinces, 4 municipalities, and 4 autonomous regions. The prevalence of high AMS scores and its association with demographic, anatomical, lifestyle, and clinical variables were evaluated. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were used for analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. In this study, 918 of 9,164 (10%, p < .001) men aged between 35 and 70 years, had AMS scores ≥50. Univariate and multivariable analyses showed that an age of >40 years, poor marital relations, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), history of fracture, and smoking ≥25 cigarettes per day were the major factors that were associated with the severity of AMS (OR ≥2; p < .05). Hypertension, low income, a low education level, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, and a waist-to-hip ratio ≥0.9 were also moderately associated with AMS severity (OR 1-2; p < .05). The current study revealed the nationally representative prevalence of severe AMS scores in Chinese men and the factors associated with severe AMS. Antiaging intervention studies should target men with specific associated factors.

The Meaning of Living for Men Suffering From Primary Hyperhidrosis.

Primary hyperhidrosis means excessive focal sweating and it has a negative effect on the mental health of those affected. Although there is no gender difference regarding the prevalence of the disease, men are less likely to seek help for this condition. The aim of this study was to explore the meaning of living with primary hyperhidrosis in men. Interviews with 15 men, selected by purposive sampling, were performed at Umeå University Hospital in Sweden between June 2016 and October 2017, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis technique according to Graneheim and Lundman (2004). This study found one theme, namely, to be captured in a filthy body, based on the categories: surrender to the condition reluctantly; prepare for a sweat attack; withdraw from close contacts; and worry about others' perceptions. The theme describes men living with hyperhidrosis feeling filthy while they struggle to control or hide the excessive sweating. Insufficient understanding from others and being reminded from the sweating is stressful and results in a sense of captivity. Interpreting the result, we conclude that the disease could stigmatize the individual, which has a negative effect on mental health and the will to seek help. Meanwhile, providing information about the disease early, as in schools, could increase the willingness of men to seek medical help. The results of this study also reinforce quantitative studies reporting the negative effects of primary hyperhidrosis on mental health.