Background Information

What are Chronic and Non-Communicable Diseases?

Chronic (or non-communicable) diseases are typically characterized as having an uncertain etiology, multiple risk factors, long latency, prolonged affliction, a non-infectious origin, and can be associated with impairments or functional disability1. Although chronic diseases are among the most common and costly health problems facing Canadians, they are also among the most preventable. Examples include cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke), cancer, diabetes, arthritis, asthma, and mental illness.

How does alcohol connect with chronic disease?

While the literature documenting the role of alcohol in the development of multiple chronic diseases continues to grow, alcohol-related chronic disease still has not received the full attention it deserves with regard to initiatives to identify risk factors of chronic disease, and interventions designed to prevent or reduce chronic disease. There is a distinction between the damage from alcohol and initiatives to control or more effectively manage this damage. Professionals and the population at large are quite aware of the more acute consequences of alcohol intoxication, such as drinking and driving: however, alcohol-related chronic disease has been secondary to these. In research, interventions and policy concentrated on chronic disease, the main attention to date has been on risk factors of tobacco use, physical activity, diet, and unhealthy weight. (Roerecke, M., Haydon, E., Geisbrecht, N. Alcohol and Chronic Disease: An Ontario Perspective. Alcohol Policy Network, 2007

For more detailed background information on specific chronic diseases, browse these links:

Canada

USA

International