Living with a chronic disease currently represents something more everyday than we can imagine in the general population. These conditions are also known as “non-communicable” to distinguish them from infections.
It is estimated that in the world there are 63% of deaths attributable to these disorders and that a third of them are, in principle, among people under 60 years of age. These data from the World Health Organization reveal the complexity of the problem.
We can mention as examples diabetes, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism and cancers. There are many more, each with its own peculiarities.
In itself, it is considered that there is chronicity when the duration of the pathology is prolonged in time. A reference measure is usually 6 months, although it does not always apply as a limit to differentiate them from acute ones.
Coping with the diagnosis of a chronic disease
Living with a chronic illness begins with the event of the diagnosis. Sometimes it is something incidental that appears in the course of other examinations and other times it is a specific search carried out by a health professional for the suspicion that they carry certain symptoms.
There are early diagnoses in people’s lives and others that appear when adulthood is already beginning. Take the example of diabetes, which in its type 1 (insulin-dependent) manifests itself from childhood. These patients will suffer from the restrictions of the diabetic diet since they are children.
On the other hand, we have type 2 (non-insulin dependent) that, as a general rule, is diagnosed in adults between 30 and 50 years of age more frequently. Here a series of habit changes are imposed that can be very difficult to assume in the context of an existence that already had its routines.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy