Springer was unable to provide statistics about the percentage of men in each group who got the recommended care. Overall, though, fewer than half of all men did, according to the study.
There was one exception to the rule: Blue-color workers who had a high attachment to masculinity were more likely to get the recommended health care.
The study has limitations. All participants were white, and all had completed high school. And Springer said unanswered questions remain, such as whether spouses play a role through "support or nagging."
The findings were to be presented Monday at the American Sociological Association annual meeting in San Francisco.
Howard S. Friedman, a professor of psychology at the University of California at Riverside, said his research has found that less masculine men live longer than masculine men. But the new study doesn't show anything like that because it doesn't examine long-term effects on health, he said.
As for the gap between men and women when it comes to living longer, he said, "it would be a stretch, going beyond the data, to link it closely to men's increased mortality risk as compared to women."
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on men's health.
SOURCES: Kristen W. Springer, Ph.D., assistant professor, sociology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, N.J.; Howard S. Friedman, Ph.D., professor, psychology, University of California, Riverside; Aug. 10, 2009, presentation, American Sociological Association annual meeting, San Francisco
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