A chronic condition (also known as chronic disease or chronic illness) is a health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term chronic is often applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include diabetes, functional gastrointestinal disorder, eczema, arthritis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, autoimmune diseases, genetic disorders and some viral diseases such as hepatitis C and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. An illness which is lifelong because it ends in death is a terminal illness. It is possible and not unexpected for an illness to change in definition from terminal to chronic. Diabetes and HIV for example were once terminal yet are now considered chronic due to the availability of insulin for diabetics and daily drug treatment for individuals with HIV which allow these individuals to live while managing symptoms.[1]
In medicine, chronic conditions are distinguished from those that are acute. An acute condition typically affects one portion of the body and responds to treatment. A chronic condition, on the other hand, usually affects multiple areas of the body, is not fully responsive to treatment, and persists for an extended period of time.[2]
Chronic conditions may have periods of remission or relapse where the disease temporarily goes away, or subsequently reappears. Periods of remission and relapse are commonly discussed when referring to substance abuse disorders which some consider to fall under the category of chronic condition.[3]
Chronic conditions are often associated with non-communicable diseases which are distinguished by their non-infectious causes. Some chronic conditions though, are caused by transmissible infections such as HIV/AIDS.[citation needed]
63% of all deaths worldwide are from chronic conditions.[4] Chronic diseases constitute a major cause of mortality, and the World Health Organization (WHO) attributes 38 million deaths a year to non-communicable diseases.[5] In the United States approximately 40% of adults have at least two chronic conditions.[6][7] Living with two or more chronic conditions is referred to as multimorbidity.[8]
^Bernell S, Howard SW (2016-08-02). "Use Your Words Carefully: What Is a Chronic Disease?". Frontiers in Public Health. 4: 159. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2016.00159. PMC 4969287. PMID 27532034.
^Jaeger J, Borod JC, Peselow E (September 1996). "Facial expression of positive and negative emotions in patients with unipolar depression". Journal of Affective Disorders. 11 (1): 43–50. doi:10.1097/00006416-199609000-00014. PMC 2944927. PMID 2944927.
^Dennis M, Scott CK (December 2007). "Managing addiction as a chronic condition". Addiction Science & Clinical Practice. 4 (1): 45–55. doi:10.1151/ascp074145. PMC 2797101. PMID 18292710.
^"WHO | Noncommunicable diseases country profiles 2011". WHO. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
^"Noncommunicable diseases. Fact sheet". World Health Organization. January 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^Gerteis J, Izrael D, Deitz D, et al.Multiple Chronic Conditions Chart-book. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality;2014
^"Chronic Diseases in America". Center for Disease Control. 1999. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
^"Multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity): making sense of the evidence". NIHR Evidence. 2021-03-30. doi:10.3310/collection_45881. S2CID 243406561.
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