Preface

NOTE: This document is provided for historical purposes only.

Although chronic diseases are among the most prevalent and costly health problems, they are also among the most preventable. Effective measures exist today to prevent or delay much of the chronic disease burden and curtail its devastating consequences.

Chronic diseases are not prevented by vaccines or generally cured by medication, nor do they just disappear. To a large degree, the major chronic disease killers—heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes—are an extension of what people do, or not do, as they go about the business of daily living. Health-damaging behaviors—in particular tobacco use, lack of physical activity, and poor nutrition—are major contributors to heart disease and cancer, our nation’s leading killers. A single behavior—tobacco use—is responsible for over 80% of deaths each year from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the nations’ fourth leading cause of death. Clearly, promoting healthy behavior choices, through education and through community policies and practices, is essential to reducing the burden of chronic diseases.

In addition, we have the tools in hand to detect certain chronic diseases in their early stages, when treatment is most effective. Regular screening can detect cancers of the breast, cervix, colon, and rectum and is also critical for preventing the debilitating complications of diabetes, including blindness, kidney disease, and lower-extremity amputations. Screening and appropriate follow-up for high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol can save the lives of those at risk for cardiovascular disease. Access to high-quality and affordable prevention measures for all Americans is essential if we are to save lives and reduce medical care costs.

As the nation’s prevention agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in collaboration with its many partners (e.g., the states, voluntary and professional organizations, academic institutions, and other federal agencies), works to ensure that advances in basic scientific and behavioral research are put into practice to benefit all Americans. The framework for CDC’s efforts to prevent chronic diseases includes promoting healthy behaviors, expanding the use of early detection practices, reaching young people with important health messages, improving the health of communities, and supporting state-based public health interventions. Underpinning this framework is surveillance—the gathering of data to determine the extent of behavioral risks, to monitor the progress of prevention efforts, and, ultimately, to make timely and effective public health decisions. The framework has been shown to be effective and, in many cases, cost-effective in reducing the chronic disease burden.

The Burden of Chronic Diseases and Their Risk Factors: National and State Perspectives— formerly known as Chronic Diseases and Their Risk Factors: The Nation’s Leading Causes of Death—provides updated information on the burden of chronic diseases and their risk factors in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The document is divided into five sections. The first section provides a national perspective on chronic diseases as major causes of death in the United States. In the second section, state-specific data on rates of death due to heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes allow for easy state-by-state comparisons. The third section provides information on the prevalence of the major risk factors for chronic diseases (tobacco use, lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol) and on the use of or access to preventive services (mammography screening, sigmoidoscopy, fecal occult blood test, and health care coverage.) The fourth section provides profiles of chronic diseases, risk factors, and preventive services in each state. The fifth section provides information on the prevalence and cost of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions. The appendix contains technical notes that include information about the 2001 National Center for Health Statistics data used in this report. Mortality data are classified by the Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) and are age adjusted to the year 2000 U.S. standard population. The appendix also contains a table that provides information on funding that CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion provides to states for programs that target chronic diseases and their risk factors.

This document is intended to aid policy makers, the public health community, and all others interested in addressing the burden of chronic disease in the United States. Another generation of Americans need not suffer unnecessarily or die prematurely when so much is already known about how to prevent disability and death from chronic diseases.

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Page last reviewed: November 12, 2005
Page last modified: November 12, 2005
Archive Date: April 8, 2008

United States Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion