Chronic conditions affect seniors‘ mobility and consequently their physical and functional status [6, 7], emotional balance, and self-esteem decline because of their dependence on others. These, in turn, contribute to the reduction in the quality of life for seniors [8].

How does chronic disease affect lifestyle?

In most cases, a chronic disease affects every aspect of a person’s life. This can include physical and mental health, family, social life, finances, and employment. Chronic diseases can also shorten a person’s life. This is especially true if the disease is not diagnosed and treated properly.

What is the relationship between chronic illness and aging?

It has been well established that the incidence of chronic disease rises sharply with age and that the majority of patients with a chronic ailment are over the age of 65 years. In the United States, about 80% of these older adults have one chronic condition, and about 50% have at least two.

What are the impacts of chronic disease?

Chronic diseases can range from mild conditions such as short- and long-sightedness, mild dental decay and minor hearing loss, to debilitating arthritis and low back pain, to life-threatening heart disease and cancers.

How do chronic diseases related to our lifestyle habits and behaviors?

Poor dietary habits, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol overuse and chronic stress are major contributors to the development and progression of preventable chronic diseases. High blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes further increase risk for developing additional chronic illnesses.

What impact does chronic illness have on an individual and their families?

Some studies suggest that having a child with a chronic illness has a negative impact on the relationship, including lack of time with the spouse, communication problems, higher divorce rates, increased relationship conflict, increased role strain, and decreased relationship satisfaction.

What are ways for elderly to cope with chronic illnesses?

Here are 10 helpful strategies for coping with a chronic condition.

• Get a prescription for information.
• Make your doctor a partner in care.
• Build a team.
• Coordinate your care.
• Make a healthy investment in yourself.
• Make it a family affair.
• Manage your medications.
• Beware of depression.

What is a chronic disease examples?

A disease or condition that usually lasts for 3 months or longer and may get worse over time. Chronic diseases tend to occur in older adults and can usually be controlled but not cured. The most common types of chronic disease are cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and arthritis.

Do older people have more chronic conditions?

Approximately 85% of older adults have at least one chronic health condition, and 60% have at least two chronic conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For many older people, coping with multiple chronic conditions is a real challenge.

What are chronic health issues?

Chronic diseases are defined broadly as conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both. Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States.

What age group is most affected by chronic disease?

Although chronic diseases affect people of all ages, the risk of chronic illness increases with age, and people aged 65 years or older are more apt to have multiple chronic illnesses.

How does chronic disease affect the healthcare system?

Recently, some health services responding to their growing number of patients with chronic illness have designed and tested new ways of providing care. They have found that, as a result, the patient’s health outcomes were improved, costs of care were lower, and patient satisfaction was higher.

What is the impact of a disease?

From the medical or disease perspective, patients’ functioning, disability and health are seen primarily as the consequences or the impact of a disease or condition. In this perspective, self-administered health status instruments are used primarily to evaluate the effects of drug treatments or surgical interventions.

What are some of the biopsychosocial impacts of living with chronic conditions?

In persons managing a chronic condition, the feelings of loss of control over their own body, along with physical complications from managing it can often result in feelings of isolation, agitation, apathy, hopelessness thereby presenting as depression.