About Chronic Diseases (2024)

FAQs

What are the physical effects of chronic disease? ›

What are some effects of a chronic illness? Chronic illnesses have disease-specific symptoms, but may also bring invisible symptoms like pain, fatigue and mood disorders. Pain and fatigue may become a frequent part of your day.

Chronic diseases are long-lasting conditions that usually can be controlled but not cured. People living with chronic illnesses often must manage daily symptoms that affect their quality of life, and experience acute health problems and complications that can shorten their life expectancy.

Most chronic illnesses do not fix themselves and are generally not cured completely. Some can be immediately life-threatening, such as heart disease and stroke. Others linger over time and need intensive management, such as diabetes.

Indeed, chronically ill patients are facing major struggles such as higher expenditures, social isolation and loneliness, disabilities, fatigue, pain/discomfort, feelings of distress, anger, hopelessness, frustration, anxiety, and depression [1,2,3,4,5].

Life expectancy decreases with each additional chronic condition. A 67-year-old individual with no chronic conditions will live on average 22.6 additional years. A 67-year-old individual with 5 chronic conditions and ≥10 chronic conditions will live 7.7 fewer years and 17.6 fewer years, respectively.

Chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer are some of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States.

In optimising the consultation, five C's need attention: control, compliance, complications, counseling/concerns, and customization. Patients with chronic conditions must become the principal caregiver themselves looking after their diet, exercise, lifestyle modification, medication use, and self monitoring.

A disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities. Disabilities can be congenital (such as cystic fibrosis) or acquired (such as lupus). A chronic health condition can be a disability, but not all disabilities are chronic health concerns.

What chronic diseases Cannot be cured? ›

Physical activity is one of the best things you can do to improve your health. If you have a chronic disease, regular activity can help you manage your condition and prevent complications. Staying active can: Immediately help you feel, function, and sleep better.

Number 1: Hypertension (high blood pressure)

The danger of hypertension is not only that you can have it for years and not know it, but it can cause other serious health conditions, like stroke and heart attacks. Steps you can take to prevent or reduce high blood pressure: Maintaina healthy weight.

Leading causes of death in 2021 globally

The world's biggest killer is ischaemic heart disease, responsible for 13% of the world's total deaths. Since 2000, the largest increase in deaths has been for this disease, rising by 2.7 million to 9.1 million deaths in 2021.

It can slow disease-related losses of muscle strength. And it can help keep joints stable. Flexibility exercises, such as stretching, can help joints keep moving, so they can work well. Balance exercises might help lower the risk of falls.

A chronic health effect is an adverse health effect resulting from long-term exposure to a substance. Symptoms do not usually subside when the exposure stops. Examples of chronic health effects include asthma and cancer.

Chronic pain can cause changes in your brain and nervous system. These changes can cause the brain to continue to send out pain signals, even when there's no harm or damage. The signal pathway to the brain can become over sensitive meaning the signals are amplified.

Impairment of body structure or function.

For example, physical impairments, such as pain and decreased range of motion (ROM) in the shoulder, may be the overt manifestations (or symptoms and signs) of either temporary or permanent disease or pathologic processes for some, but not necessarily all, older adult patients.