Online-only: New IOM report aims to reduce burden of chronic illnesses
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* Teddi Dineley Johnson

The epidemic of chronic illness is approaching crisis proportions in the United States, yet too little attention has been given to improving the quality of life of the millions of Americans who live with them, finds a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

Commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Arthritis Foundation, the report, “Living Well with Chronic Illness: A Call for Public Health Action,” estimated that 133 million people in the United States live with a chronic disease that limits their functional status, productivity and quality of life. Moreover, one in four Americans is living with two or more chronic illnesses, the report found, and chronic diseases account for 70 percent of all U.S. deaths.

In addition to their human toll, chronic illnesses account for 75 percent of the $2 trillion in U.S. annual health care spending, according to the report, which outlined a comprehensive framework for developing and implementing strategies aimed at reducing the burdens chronic diseases bring to bear on people and society.

Among its recommendations, the report urged the public health, health care and local communities to join to produce better prevention and treatment outcomes for people living with chronic diseases. The report also calls for strengthening public health actions to manage chronic disease by looking holistically at the multiple diseases, health conditions and physical impairments that significantly affect a person’s health and quality of life as well as the nation’s economy. For example, rather than focus on a specific set of chronic illnesses, the report identifies nine conditions that are diverse yet have various factors in common, including significant effects on the nation’s health and economy. The conditions are arthritis, cancer survivorship, chronic pain, dementia, depression, Type 2 diabetes, post-traumatic disabling conditions, schizophrenia and vision and hearing loss.

Released in January, the report also recommends that all major federally funded programs and research initiatives in health include an evaluation on health-related quality of life and functional status.

Calling the report “groundbreaking,” the Arthritis Foundation joined IOM in urging all sectors of the health care system to collaborate and focus more attention on helping people live well with chronic illnesses.

“The Arthritis Foundation applauds the IOM for calling attention to the staggering toll of chronic diseases, like arthritis, and for developing a visionary blueprint that calls for a paradigm shift in the way our health system deals with this growing problem,” said John Klippel, Arthritis Foundation president and CEO, in a statement.

Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United States, Klippel said, noting that arthritis causes people to lose their independence and their ability to care for themselves as well as their other chronic diseases.

“More than 50 percent of people with heart disease and diabetes have arthritis,” Klippel said. “We’re excited to embrace this new vision and welcome new partners to reduce the impact of all chronic illness in this country.”

For more information or to download the report, visit [www.iom.edu/reports](http://www.iom.edu/reports).

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association