Chronic Disease

Preventing chronic disease is one of 5 priorities in New York State’s Prevention Agenda, with improving nutrition and food security, increasing physical activity, and preventing tobacco use forming the core of the preventing chronic diseases Action Plan.

The plan also emphasizes

• the importance of preventive care and management for chronic diseases, such as screening for cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure;
• promoting evidence-based chronic disease management; and
• improving self-management skills for individuals with chronic diseases.

Tompkins County

• Community Health Priority: Prevent Chronic Disease

NYSDOH

• Chronic Diseases and Conditions
• Prevention Agenda 2019-2024: Prevent Chronic Diseases Action Plan
• Division of Chronic Disease Prevention Fact Sheet

CDC

• About Chronic Diseases
• Advancing Health Equity in Chronic Disease Prevention and Management
• National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)
• Are You Up to Date on Your Preventive Care?

Asthma is a lung disease that can be life threatening.

Asthma is a chronic, or long-term disease, which can affect you for the rest of your life.

Asthma causes breathing problems. The airways in the lungs get blocked, causing the lungs to get less air than normal. Symptoms of an "asthma attack" can be difficulty with breathing, a tight feeling in the chest, coughing and wheezing. Asthma can develop quickly and it can range from being a mild discomfort to a life-threatening attack if breathing stops completely. Asthma problems are often separated by symptom-free periods.

There is no cure for asthma but it can be prevented and controlled with proper care.

People with asthma can live a normal and active life.

• Asthma Brochure(PDF, 702KB)

Asthma affects Americans of all ages, races, and ethnic groups but low-income and minority populations experience higher rates of hospital admissions and emergency room visits due to asthma.

Asthma is a serious and growing health problem. In 2013, approximately 21.6 million (9.0%) adults and 4.6 million (9.2%) children indicated they currently had asthma. About one in ten preschool children is diagnosed with asthma.

Could You or Your Child Have Asthma?

A chronic cough may be the only symptom. Wheezing does not have to be present. Here are some questions your doctor may ask:

1. Do colds go right to the chest and last longer than with others in the family?
2. Is there a cough and /or sometimes a wheeze, chest tightness or trouble breathing?
3. Does the coughing or wheezing affect sleep?
4. Is there a family history of asthma or allergies?
5. How often is medication needed for any of the symptoms suggested in #2?
6. During the past 2 years, was treatment in the emergency room or hospital necessary for anything in #2?
7. How is work or school missed for anything in #2?

Individuals and families feel the burden of this chronic disease everyday.

New York residents had an average of 42,725 asthma hospitalizations per year during 1998-2000. Children aged 0-17 averaged 16,539 hospitalizations per year. Asthma hospitalization rates are higher in the poor inner city populations. Hospitalization rates for children ages 0-4 are improving. In children 0-4 years of age, hospitalization rates dropped from 75.5/10,000 (1996-1998) to 72.1 (1998-2000). In children 5-14 years of age, hospitalization rates dropped from 29.0/10,000 (1996-1998) to 25.5/10,000 (1998-2000).

In New York, Asthma caused an average of 358 deaths per year in from 1998-2000. There were 12 deaths in children 0-14 years of age.

Nationally, asthma results in nine million visits to health care providers per year, over 1.8 million emergency room visits per year, and almost a half a million hospital stays per year. The estimated cost of asthma in 2000 was $14.3 billion per year. In New York, total Medicaid health care expenditures for recipients with asthma in New York State exceeded $1 billion in fiscal year 2000, inclusive of asthma related and unrelated medical services.

Asthma takes its toll in many ways. Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism. Asthma results in many lost nights of sleep and disruption of activities for the individual, as well as his or her family. Parents frequently miss days from work as a result of their child's asthma.

Asthma causes airways, the passages that bring air to your lungs, to become very sensitive and reactive. When airways come in contact with "triggers", the airways narrow, swell and produce mucus. In addition, the muscles on the outside of the airways constrict and tighten around the airways. As a result, breathing becomes difficult. These effects cause episodes of breathlessness, wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness. Having one or several of these symptoms is called an asthma episode, or attack. These symptoms are usually temporary, and can be mild or life threatening.

Upper respiratory viral infections, house dust mites, cockroach debris, animal dander, mold, pollen, cold air, exercise, stress, tobacco smoke and indoor and outdoor air pollutants can trigger symptoms.

Asthma triggers affect people differently but studies have shown that if they are reduced or eliminated, symptoms and the need for medications are reduced and lung function is improved.

Common Factors or Triggers

• Tobacco Smoke
• Exercise
• Stress
• Cold Air
• Pollen
• Mold
• Animal Dander
• Dust Mites Debris
• Cockroaches Debris
• Diesel Exhaust
• Air Pollution
• Isocyanates
• Dyes
• Formaldehyde
• Wood Dust

Asthma Triggers at Home and in the Workplace

• Have Asthma? Take A Look Around You
  • Have Asthma? Take A Look Around You - English
  • Have Asthma? Take A Look Around You - Spanish
• Asthma Trigger Tracker and Key Questions
  • Asthma Trigger Tracker and Key Questions - English
  • Asthma Trigger Tracker and Key Questions - Spanish
• Is Your Asthma Work-Related? Work-related asthma is more common than you think. Find out if your job could be affecting your asthma, and what you can do to control your asthma at work.

Using the correct medications, reducing exposure to triggers and learning how to manage asthma as a chronic disease can reduce both the frequency and severity of asthma symptoms.

Asthma can be treated and controlled without major limitations to your life. Each case of asthma is different but knowing the facts about asthma and how it affects you will help you work with your provider to develop a plan tailored to your needs. Talk to your doctor about your Asthma Action Plan.

• Select a primary care physician/provider.
• Keep appointments even if you are not having any symptoms.
• Develop an Asthma Action Plan with your provider. Keep a copy of your plan handy to refer to. If your child has asthma, share a copy of his or her plan with your child's daycare or school.
• Learn about asthma medications.
• Learn how and when to use the right medicine.
• Take the medicine prescribed by your physician to prevent asthma symptoms, even if you are not experiencing symptoms.
• Learn what "triggers" your asthma symptoms.
• Remove and reduce the triggers in your environment that make your asthma worse.
• Learn to use a peak flow meter to see if your asthma is getting worse.
• Learn when to call for medical care and what to do in an emergency.

Asthma medications are an important part of your asthma treatment and prevention. Physicians and other health care providers prescribe several kinds of medications for asthma. Not all medications work the same way even if they come in the same kind of container.

There Are Two Types of Medications

Long Term Control/Preventive Medications. These long-term control medicines help to lessen the frequency and severity of asthma episodes over time. They do not provide immediate relief.

Quick-Relief/Rescue Medications. These quick relief medicines are used to control the immediate relief of asthma symptoms.

These medications may be in pill or syrup form or inhaled. Pills or syrup are taken by mouth. Inhaled medication can be administered either by an inhaler or "pump" or through a nebulizer machine.

If You are Taking Asthma Medications, You Need to Know

• The kind of medication you are taking.
• How you are supposed to take your medication.
• How the medication helps your asthma.
• The side effects of the medication.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not make any insulin or can't use the insulin it does make as well as it should. Insulin is a hormone made in the body. It helps glucose (sugar) from food enter the cells where it can be used to give the body energy. Without insulin, glucose remains in the blood stream and cannot be used for energy by the cells. Over time, having too much glucose in the blood can cause many health problems.

Diabetes is the most rapidly growing chronic disease of our time. It has become an epidemic that affects one out of every 12 adult New Yorkers. Since 1994, the number of people in the state who have diabetes has more than doubled, and it is likely that number will double again by the year 2050.

More than one million adults, or 8.9 percent of New Yorkers have been diagnosed with diabetes. It is estimated that another 450,000 people have diabetes and don't know it, because the symptoms may be overlooked or misunderstood.

In addition, estimates indicate that there are between 3.7 and 4.2 million (25-30%) adult New Yorkers with pre-diabetes. Individuals with pre-diabetes have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. People with pre-diabetes are 5 to 15 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than someone without the condition, and are also at increased risk of developing heart disease, stroke and eye disease.

Lifestyle changes are an important part of controlling diabetes and pre-diabetes.

Diabetes Prevention Program

The Tompkins County Diabetes Prevention Program can give you the skills and practice necessary to make the important changes in your lifestyle habits, and help you prevent diabetes.

Estimates indicate that there are between 3.7 and 4.2 million adult New Yorkers with pre-diabetes. That's close to one in every three adults!

Individuals with Pre-diabetes have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. People with Pre-diabetes are 5 to 15 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than someone without the condition. People with Pre-diabetes are also at increased risk of developing heart disease, stroke and eye disease.

Lifestyle changes are the key to keeping Pre-diabetes from developing into a diagnosis of full blown diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic disease that can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.

If you have pre-diabetes, the most important precaution you can take to prevent developing diabetes is to make sustainable lifestyle changes. Long-term changes in your diet and in the amount of physical activity you get are steps toward diabetes prevention. Changing your everyday habits takes effort and a lot of practice, but they will help you stay healthier for years to come.

Know Your Score

How do you know if you have pre-diabetes? Your level of risk is based on your family history for diabetes, your age, and your personal health history and current health status. To find out if you are at risk, take the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Diabetes Risk Test. The test on the ADA website. At the end, you will get a score and some information about what your score means.

Your Next Step

If your score shows you have pre-diabetes or are at risk for developing diabetes, contact your doctor and ask if the Tompkins County Diabetes Prevention Program is right for you.

• Do I Have Prediabetes? - Website by the CDC