Chronic Diseases
According to the National Center for Health statistics, chronic diseases are diseases
that last three months or more and generally cannot be prevented by vaccines or cured
by medication, and do not go away on their own. Examples include heart disease, cancer,
arthritis, and diabetes. Substance addiction, mental illnesses, and obesity have not always
been included in most lists of chronic diseases, but using the above definition, they
also would qualify.
Chronic diseases are among the most common, costly, and preventable of all health problems. The
burden of chronic disease is high for society and for those who have them. Chronic diseases made
up 7 of the 10 leading causes of death in New Mexico in 2015. Obesity is a serious health concern
and does not appear to be improving. Arthritis is the most common cause of disability, with one in
every four adult New Mexicans having been diagnosed by a doctor with arthritis. Diabetes is not
only a leading cause of death, but also a leading cause of kidney failure, non-injury-related
lower-limb amputations, and new cases of blindness among adults.
In 2015, cancer was the leading cause of death in New Mexico accounting for 20.3% of all deaths,
followed closely by heart disease deaths with 19.8%.
According to the data from the 2015 New Mexico Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey:
According to the data from the 2015 New Mexico Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey:
- 445,000 (27.8%) of New Mexico adults ages 18 and over (nearly half a million adults) ages 18 and over were obese (BMI of 30 or greater).
- 392,000 (24.5%) New Mexico adults had been diagnosed by a doctor with arthritis.
- 184,000 (11.5%) were told by a doctor that they had diabetes.
- 158,400 (9.9%) adults had current asthma.
- 97,600 (6.1%) had had some kind of cancer other than skin cancer.
- 94,400 (5.9%) had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- 49,600 (3.1%) had chronic kidney disease.
Research suggests that in addition to individual biology, lifestyle behaviors play an integral part in chronic
illness in a population. According the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Report 2010, risk factors for
chronic illness include:
- tobacco use
- harmful use of alcohol
- raised blood pressure (or hypertension)
- raised cholesterol
- overweight/obesity
- unhealthy diet
- raised blood glucose
Research has shown that chronic disease risk reduction can be addressed through evidence-based
strategies that promote healthy lifestyles based on non-smoking, good nutrition, regular physical
activity, acceptable BMI, and low/moderate alcohol intake. Preventive care practices, timely
affective care and appropriate disease management have been shown to be effective in reducing
the incidence and progression of various chronic conditions. In addition to reducing behavioral
risk factors, the impact of environmental and occupational risk factors should also be explored.
The New Mexico Department of Health tracks chronic diseases through:
- New Mexico's Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (NMBVRHS).
- Mexico Hospital Inpatient Discharge Data.
- New Mexico Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Cardiovascular Disease
- Cardiovascular Disease - Heart Disease Deaths
- Cardiovascular Disease: Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) Hospitalizations
- Cardiovascular Disease: Stroke Deaths
- Cardiovascular Disease - High Blood Pressure
- Cardiovascular Disease - High Cholesterol
Diabetes
- Diabetes (Diagnosed) Prevalence
- Pre-diabetes (Diagnosed) Prevalence
- Diabetes Deaths
- Diabetes Hospitalizations
Obesity
Arthritis
Asthma
- Asthma Emergency Department Visits
- Asthma Hospitalizations - Adults
- Asthma Hospitalizations - Children
- Asthma Prevalence in Adults
- Asthma Prevalence in Children
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Deaths
- COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Emergency Department Visits
- COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Hospitalizations
- COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Prevalence
Other
These links will run the query and take you to the results page. To modify the query criteria, you can use the top
left ("MODIFY Query") navigation button on the query results page.
Chronic Disease Deaths
Cancer
Cardiovascular Disease
Drug Overdose
Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease
Diabetes
Chronic Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis
Kidney Disease
- Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome and Nephrosis Deaths
- Essential Hypertension and Hypertensive Kidney Disease Deaths
Neurological Diseases
Chronic Disease Prevalence
Arthritis
Cardiovascular Disease
- High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
- Doctor-diagnosed Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction)
- Doctor-diagnosed Coronary Heart Disease
- Doctor-diagnosed Stroke