CDC’s Chronic Disease Prevention System

Chronic diseases and conditions—such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and arthritis—are among the most common, costly, and preventable of all health problems. Half of all American adults have at least one chronic condition, and almost one of three have multiple chronic conditions. Just as chronic diseases share many of the same causes, many of the same strategies and interventions can prevent them or lessen their severity. CDC approaches this work through four domains of chronic disease prevention, detailed in a Lancet article that was part of a CDC special collection released in 2014.

Text description of this chart is available.

More Information

Multiple Chronic Conditions

Chronic Disease Overview

The Four Domains of Chronic Disease Prevention [PDF – 1.1 MB]

NCCDPHP At A Glance

Lancet podcast: The Health of Americans (free access)

Lancet article: Prevention of chronic disease in the 21st century: elimination of the leading preventable causes of premature death and disability in the USA (PubMed abstract)

CDC PowerPoint Presentations to Use and Share

These slide sets can be tailored for use at the federal, state and local levels by adding specific data, case studies, and other useful information. If you wish to use specific slides, please do not alter their format. If the format is altered, the CDC logo must be removed, but the citation source for the data should be included.

• Preventing Chronic Disease: Eliminating the Leading Preventable Causes of Premature Death and Disability in the United States [PPT – 5.3 MB] [PDF – 6.5 MB]
• The Four Domains of Chronic Disease Prevention [PPT – 514 MB] [PDF – 168 MB]

Additional Resources

A Day in the Life (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)

Video on coordinating health care.

Medicare Chronic Conditions Chartbook: 2012 Edition (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services)

2010 data for all Medicare beneficiaries. Available in PDF and PowerPoint formats.

Chronic Care: Making the Case for Ongoing Care (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)

2006 data for all adults from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Available in PDF and PowerPoint formats.

HHS Initiative on Multiple Chronic Conditions (US Department of Health and Human Services)

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