Sexual Health: Communicate, Inquire, and Promote. Healthy People 2020 identify Reproduction and Sexual Health as a leading health indicator. Leading health indicators, or high priority health issues, list objectives to improve the health of the US population. Providers and healthcare organizations are encouraged to implement these objectives in their practice in order to meet these health care goals for the nation.

Hiking for My Life. I filled my fluorescent-yellow Nalgene water bottle at the drinking fountain at Happy Isles at the west end of Yosemite Valley last August 28, then screwed its top on tight. I clipped it to the waist belt of my 50-pound orange backpack and pivoted toward the trailhead. The thought flashed through my mind that I probably shouldn’t be doing this.

Bone Fragility Treatment. Since we first started using bisphosphonates like alendronate (Fosamax) to treat bone loss in women, our tendency has been to over treat younger women with milder bone loss and under treat older women who are at much higher risk of fracture, or in some cases recurrent fracture.

A "Frank" Talk About Osteoporosis: New Guidelines for Men. While still considered a “woman’s disease,” osteoporosis is indeed a problem for men, too. Moreover, among men whose lifestyle habits put them at increased risk, few recognize the disease as a significant threat to their mobility and independence.

Providing Care for Soldiers Returning From Iraq and Afghanistan. Since September 11, 2001, approximately 2.4 million military personnel have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. To date, roughly 1.44 million have separated from the military; when they return to the states, approximately half will use Veterans Affairs healthcare and the other half will be seen by non-VA primary care providers.

PSA Testing: The Jury Is In. The jury is no longer out as to whether or not all men should have a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to look for prostate cancer.

The jury continues to be out as to whether or not all men should have a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test to look for prostate cancer. Last fall, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts whose recommendations help define high-quality healthcare for most Americans, issued a preliminary recommendation saying no to routine PSA testing for all men.

Chronic pelvic pain is a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma that can be frustrating for women, men, and healthcare providers. Read on to learn about this challenging multifactoral condition in women and men and guidelines for an integrated management approach.

Male Teens and Eating Disorders. It's not just a female illness anymore.

PSA Testing and Mortality. There continues to be much controversy as to whether prostate cancer screening for all men older than 50 years is a clinically useful—or harmful—tool.

Panel Endorses Active Monitoring and Delay of Treatment for Low-Risk Prostate Cancer. An independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health has concluded that many men with localized, low-risk prostate cancer should be closely monitored, permitting treatment to be delayed until warranted by disease progression.

PSA Testing: More Harm Than Good? The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has released a draft document recommending against prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer. This recommendation applies to asymptomatic men, regardless of age, race, or family history.

The "Superman Syndrome": Why Men Are Reluctant to Pursue Preventive Care. Obviously no single behavior pattern is typical for all men, and some women fall into this avoidance pattern, as well. As a whole, however, men are reluctant to seek out preventive health services.

New Information for Primary Care Providers About 5-ARIs Used to Treat Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing healthcare professionals that the Warnings and Precautions section on the labels for the 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) class of drugs has been revised to include new safety information about the increased risk of being diagnosed with a high-grade prostate cancer.

Understanding HPV Epidemiology, Diseases, and Vaccines in Male and Female Patients. Primary care clinicians are at the frontline of vaccination to protect women against HPV; gynecologists are traditionally not ones to provide vaccines. Primary care providers most often do not think of HPV and sexually transmitted infections (STI), often leaving them to annual gynecologic examinations. Together, these factors have led to poor vaccination rates with what is deemed a critical vaccine for women by the CDC.