chronic disease

noun

plural chronic diseases

: a disease (such as asthma, coronary heart disease, or diabetes) that continues or occurs again and again for a long time : a medical condition of prolonged duration

… childhood obesity that too often leads to chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.

—Akiba Solomon

Most oncologists are reluctant to use the word "cure," and tend to speak of cancer as a chronic disease. The goal of treatment is remission, a state in which the cancer can't be detected.

—Sallie Tisdale

More than 2,200 local doctors had voluntarily provided free care to uninsured patients, including surgery, chemotherapy and chronic disease management.

—The Dallas Morning News

Examples of chronic disease in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Most people know that obesity is linked to chronic disease and other health issues, but more and more, research is showing obesity can be unhealthy for the brain, too. —Lauryn Higgins, Health, 16 Apr. 2024

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body's cells become desensitized to insulin. —Elizabeth Woolley, Verywell Health, 15 Apr. 2024

On the controversial diabetes tech report Tullman is best known as the former CEO of Livongo, the chronic disease management company that merged with Teladoc in an $18.5 billion deal, resetting expectations for digital health company success. —Mario Aguilar, STAT, 4 Apr. 2024

The idea is the insurance companies would focus on preventive care like screenings and the management of chronic diseases to avoid paying for expensive hospital stays when untreated or unmanaged health issues become life threatening emergencies. —Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Apr. 2024

At the Oakland event Tuesday, Shanahan said her background in tech and passion tackling the rise in chronic disease are some of the attributes that will guide her role in Kennedy's campaign. —Stephen Fowler, NPR, 26 Mar. 2024

It’s often seen in people who also suffer from iron-deficiency anemia, chronic diseases and lead poisoning. —Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024

Today, the widespread prevalence of chronic diseases in 6 out of 10 Americans underlines the limitations of the fee-for-service (FFS) model. —Robert Pearl, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024

Our Connected Health™ remote patient monitoring platform is used by healthcare enterprises and care teams across North America to virtually manage chronic disease, enable aging in place, and deliver hospital-quality post-surgical care in the home. —Kansas City Star, 9 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

chronic disease

noun

: a disease (such as asthma, coronary heart disease, or diabetes) that continues or occurs again and again for a long time : a medical condition of prolonged duration

Millions suffer from debilitating chronic disease caused by smoking. It is a major risk factor in cardiovascular disease, chronic bronchitis and emphysema …

—Phil Gunby, The Journal of the American Medical Association