Chronic Diseases

Control of heart disease risk factors varies among outpatient practices

Control of heart disease risk factors varies widely among outpatient practices, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2013.

Health created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New mechanism to prevent type 2 diabetes in obese individuals

A new Montréal study conducted by Dr. May Faraj, associate research professor at the Université de Montréal and invited scientist at the IRCM, along with her research team and medical collaborators, shows ...

Medical research created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cancer survivors battle with the blues

Depressed cancer survivors are twice as likely to die prematurely than those who do not suffer from depression, irrespective of the cancer site. That's according to a new study, by Floortje Mols and colleagues, from Tilburg ...

Cancer created May 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Resistance to visceral leishmaniasis: New mechanisms involved

Researchers from CNRS, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier and IRD have elucidated new molecular mechanisms involved in resistance to visceral leishmaniasis, a serious parasitic infection. They have shown that dectin-1 ...

Immunology created May 16, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Students' diet and physical activity improve with parent communications

College students eat more fruits and vegetables and exercise more on days when they communicate more with their parents, according to researchers at Penn State.

Health created May 16, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cholesterol-lowering drug may reduce exercise benefits for obese adults, study finds

Statins, the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide, are often suggested to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease in individuals with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of medical disorders ...

Cardiology created May 15, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cognitive health info from doctors found to be lacking

(HealthDay)—Communication between patients and physicians regarding activities that may be beneficial to maintaining cognitive functioning during aging may be lacking, according to a study published online ...

Neuroscience created May 14, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Fish oil may stall effects of junk food on brain

Data from more than 180 research papers suggests fish oils could minimise the effects that junk food can have on the brain, a review by researchers at the University of Liverpool has shown.

Health created May 14, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Title V coverage varies across states for diabetes

(HealthDay)—There is significant state by state variation in Title V medical coverage for children with diabetes, according to a study published in the April issue of The Journal of Pediatrics.

Pediatrics created May 10, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Social connections drive the 'upward spiral' of positive emotions and health

People who experience warmer, more upbeat emotions may have better physical health because they make more social connections, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Ps ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 09, 2013 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Brazil slum study: Mobile health tech promising

(AP)—A study conducted in a Rio de Janeiro hillside slum says that using mobile health technology to monitor patients in poor urban areas could improve residents' access to health care while also reducing healthcare spending.

Health created May 08, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Advance directives manage end of life care issues and reduce end of life medical costs

A new article available online in the American Journal of Public Health by two Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health faculty makes a compelling case that end-of-life care issues need to become an integral part o ...

Health created May 08, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Hastings Center calls on health care professionals and organizations to meet standards for good care near the end of lif

People with chronic or life-threatening illnesses often experience problems with their care, including confusion and conflict over how to make good decisions, poor communication with care providers, inadequate pain and symptom ...

Health created May 07, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Using anticholinergics for as few as 60 days causes memory problems in older adults

Research from the Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University Center for Aging Research and Wishard-Eskenazi Health on medications commonly taken by older adults has found that drugs with strong anticholinergic effects ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created May 07, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Nutritional quality at fast-food restaurants still needs improvement, study reports

More than 25 percent of American adults chow down on fast food two or more times each week. Known for menu items containing high amounts of fat, sugar, and salt, fast-food restaurants have contributed to America's poor diets ...

Health created May 07, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


A chronic disease is a disease or other human health condition that is persistent or long-lasting in nature. The term chronic is usually applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include asthma, cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.

In medicine, the opposite of chronic is acute. A chronic course is further distinguished from a recurrent course; recurrent diseases relapse repeatedly, with periods of remission in between.

While often referred to as "non-communicable diseases", also usually lasting medical conditions, the latter are distinguished by their non-infectious cause. In contrast, some chronic diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, are caused by transmissible infections.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health

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