Have You Looked Under Your Hood?

· Work stress: Men suffer more work-related stress than women, putting them at greater risk for stress-related illnesses such as heart disease.

· Social networks and supports: Men have smaller networks of friends and tend to rely on their wives for their social life; social support helps protect people from mental and physical problems.

Behavioral Factors

· Risk-taking: Men are more likely to engage in risky behavior, aggression and violence.

· Smoking: The gap is narrowing, but 23.4 percent of men compared with 18 percent of women smoke.

· Addiction: Men are more likely to abuse alcohol and other substances.

· Diet: Men are less diet-conscious than women.

· Exercise: Women are more active than men on the whole.

But the underlying problem is that men suffer from what I call "real-men-don't-see-doctors" syndrome. When it comes to health, men put their heads under the hoods of their cars and deny their symptoms for as long as possible.

Look at it this way: You can buy a new car as soon as the sheen goes from the paint job, but your own body has to last you a lifetime. ·

Harvey B. Simon is the founding editor of the Harvard Men's Health Watch newsletter, in which he has written about the health gap between men and women. He is also the author of "The Harvard Medical School Guide to Men's Health" (Simon and Schuster). Comments:health@washpost.com.