What is a chronic disease?

A chronic illness is a condition that affects health and lasts for months or years. Often, there is no cure for a chronic illness, and people are forced to manage symptoms on a daily basis.

As defined by the US National Center for Health Statistics, a chronic disease is a disease that persists for a long time, from 3 months to more than 1 year. In general, chronic diseases cannot be prevented by vaccines or cured with drugs, nor can they be cured on their own. However, you can still live with the disease and manage your symptoms on a daily basis as directed by your doctor. The disease can also go through cycles of progressive, controlled, or stable growth.
As of 1998, approximately 80% of Americans over the age of 65 had at least one chronic health condition. Harmful behaviors - particularly tobacco use, physical inactivity and unhealthy eating habits - are the leading contributors to chronic diseases. Chronic diseases tend to become more common in the elderly.

Around the question of whether to use the word chronic or chronic disease, there is an opinion that using chronic or chronic disease is okay and has the same meaning. However, the Sino-Vietnamese word "Man" means: slowly, slowly, gradually. Therefore, the term “Chronic” is preferred and is more precise.

Common chronic diseases among the elderly living in developed countries include:
2.1. Arthritis Arthritis and related conditions are the leading cause of loss of mobility, affecting nearly 43 million Americans. Although there are many effective arthritis interventions, they are not widely used today. Regular moderate-intensity exercise has many benefits for people with arthritis, helping them relieve joint pain and stiffness, build strong muscles around joints, and increase flexibility and endurance. .

2.2. Cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke, is becoming a growing concern in the United States, being the nation's leading cause of death. Three behaviors that both adversely affect health and are a significant risk for heart disease include:
Smoking; Physical inactivity; Poor nutrition. Giving up these harmful habits is important in preventing and controlling heart disease.
2.3. Cancer Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States. Most cancers are controlled through prevention, early detection, and aggressive treatment. To reduce the incidence of cancers, it is necessary to eliminate the risk factors and improve the living environment. People should also proactively screen for cancer periodically to timely detect and receive appropriate medical care.

Colorectal cancer accounts for 10% of all cancer deaths, is the second leading cause of death for cancer patients in the US. The risk of developing colorectal cancer increases with age. Regular physical inactivity, a diet low in fruits, vegetables, and fiber in general, obesity, alcohol consumption, and smoking can all contribute to colorectal cancer risk.
Three screening tools, flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, and fecal blood test (FOBT) are widely accepted and used to detect colorectal cancer in its earliest stages - when which treatments are most effective. In 1999, 66% of Americans ≥ 50 years old said they had not had a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy within the past 5 years and 79% said they had not had a fecal blood test in the past year.
Breast cancer is easily detected at an early stage by mammography. About 76% of breast cancer diagnoses are in women aged 50 years or older.

2.4. Diabetes Diabetes is a serious, damaging and increasingly common chronic disease. Key strategies to prevent diabetes from progressing include:
Early detection; Improve health care; Disease self-management. According to statistics, there are about 7 million people aged 65 and over with diabetes, most of which are type 2 diabetes.
2.5. Seizures and convulsions Seizures and convulsions affect about 2.3 million Americans, causing an estimated $12.5 billion in damage. People of all ages can get the disease, but it especially affects young children and the elderly. About 10% of Americans have epilepsy, and about 3% are diagnosed with epilepsy by age 80.

2.6. Obesity Obesity is very common among Americans of all age groups. Currently, the adult obesity rate has doubled since 1980. People who are obese or overweight have a higher risk of:
Heart disease; Hypertension ; Diabetes; Joint problems; Some cancers. 2.7. Oral health issues Oral health is an important, yet often overlooked, issue in health care in general and the elderly in particular. Dental diseases can cause physical and psychological pain, as well as affect the ability to talk, eat and chew, and prevent patients from getting a varied diet.
In addition, asthma and depression are also common chronic diseases in different age groups.

In summary, chronic diseases are conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical care, combined with restriction of daily living habits that increase the risk. Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are the leading causes of death in the United States. Some of the bad habits that increase the risk of chronic disease are exposure to tobacco smoke, poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, and alcohol abuse.
Periodic health check-ups help to detect diseases early, so that there are treatment plans for optimal results. Currently, International General Hospital has general health checkup packages suitable for each age, gender and individual needs of customers with a reasonable price policy.
The difference that the general health checkup packages at Vinmec bring is the ability to screen and apply advanced medical technology, promptly detect diseases at an early stage.
Besides, Vinmec owns a system of modern equipment, optimal facilities, helping to best support diagnosis for customers such as PET/CT, MRI, CT 640, standard laboratory system. international, leading advanced ultrasound system in the world,...

Results of the patient's examination will be returned to the home. After receiving the results of the general health examination, if you detect diseases that require intensive examination and treatment, you can use services from other specialties at the Hospital with quality treatment and services. outstanding customer service. Customers can call hotlines of hospitals or register for online consultation with Vinmec HERE.
References: Cdc.gov, Medicinenet.com; Webmd.com
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