The Agency for Research and Health Care Quality is focused on Prevention of Chronic Disease. From their webpage come these facts:
"More than a quarter of all Americans—and two out of three older Americans—are estimated to have at least two chronic physical or behavioral health problems. Treatment for people living with these multiple chronic conditions (MCC) currently accounts for an estimated 66 percent of the Nation's health care costs. As the U.S. population ages, the number of patients with MCC continues to grow. This mounting challenge has become a major public health issue that is linked to sub-optimal health outcomes and rising health care costs."
Visit there for more compelling information about this critical situation in our society.
Examples of chronic conditions: arthritis, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney disease, obesity, depression, anxiety, addictive dependencies.
For instance: New research has revealed that current and former smokers have worse profiles across several clinical outcomes including higher A1C and higher diabetes distress scores, probably brought on by inadequate self-moonitoring of health.
Obesity among adults and children is becoming a serious concern. The STOP Obesity Alliance is addressing this with research and teaching resources for intervention. They have found that approximately 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men gain 44 pounds or more between 18 and 55 years of their life. Visit their website to learn the facts about the influence obesity has on many chronic, expensive diseases --Get their Fact Sheets
Smoking seems to shrink parts of your brain that help you think and remember things. It also raises your risk of dementia, possibly because it’s bad for your blood vessels. And it definitely raises your risk of stroke, which can damage the brain and cause vascular dementia.
