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

These plans focus on people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid or have chronic diseases (C-SNPs) or are home or institution bound (I-SNP). —Sachin H. Jain, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

One Green Bay area program is tackling the most common childhood chronic disease: dental cavities. —Nadia Scharf, Journal Sentinel, 23 Oct. 2024

The study suggested looking at a chronic disease as a job. —Michael MacIntyre, Verywell Health, 22 Oct. 2024

Gavi now supports stockpiles of outbreak-specific vaccines for cholera, yellow fever, meningococcal disease and Ebola so the countries most affected can focus their health-care resources on chronic disease, snakebites, cancer and HIV, among other conditions. —Tara Haelle, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 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