increase in number of chronically ill

Avoidable burden of disease results in additional pressure on our health care. More than 70 percent of the
expenditure in healthcare goes to people with chronic illness. The RIVM has calculated that the
next 20 years (2005-2025) significantly increases the number of people with a chronic condition.
This is mainly because of the ageing of the population, but also unhealthy behavior plays a
important role. Many of these chronic diseases are caused or exacerbated by an unhealthy
lifestyle including smoking, lack of exercise, unhealthy eating. Often there is also a stacking on
of chronic conditions, the so-called multi-morbidity.

as the number of people who are overweight continues to increase at the same rate, diabetes with over
70 percent will rise to 940 in 2025. By 2025 we expect 540,000 people with COPD
(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease): an increase of 12 percent in men and as many as 30
percent in women. For the risk groups, it is first of all important that the condition is not
get, or only later in life. If someone does get the condition then it is important that those
person can count on a good secondary and tertiary prevention.
Chronic diseases lowering the quality and length of life and cause
social costs because a job needs to be done on care and informal care, and a
lower labour productivity. Help the prevention and behaviour
personal and social consequences of chronic diseases.
differences in health
While England in European perspective to be seen is a village in the middle bracket,
are also significant differences in regional and local health and the occurrence of
risk factors for disease and death. So is the difference between regions with the highest and lowest
healthy life expectancy 15 years. The health of people with a low socio-economic
status is on almost all fronts worse than those of the Englishmen with a high socio-economic
status. They experience their health often less well and they have more often
HEALTH, WELFARE and SPORT a vision of health and prevention, september 2007
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chronic conditions and restrictions. Also immigrants constitute a sensitive group when it comes to
Health goes. That is demonstrated, for example, the above average percentage of persons with
overweight and a higher mortality risk among immigrant children.
The analysis of the National Institute for public health and the environment (RIVM) is clear: socio-economic
and ethnic health backlogs have persistent
proven. In addition, they are inseparably bound up with backlogs in other areas.
Health inequalities are greatest at the level of neighborhoods and districts. A ' cheap ' neighborhood
with poor quality housing, less favourable environmental characteristics and defective
facilities, especially the underprivileged, while promising citizens precisely select leave. Also the
poor quality of housing and the local environment itself have an unfavourable influence on the
health. In addition, prevailing social standards for (UN) healthy behaviour and dealing with
Health hit each other in the neighborhood. Bad example does follow.
Key Points
• Health is an important core value that requires constant attention and action.
• Health and care sectors provide a positive contribution to society. Healthy
citizens contribute to the vitality of society. Health care in broad sense
maintains and produces human talent.
• Health in England can be much better. England lags behind other European countries.
• Differences in health between groups are very large.
• Stay Alert on old and new health threats is necessary.
• Diseases that nowadays many premature death and cause loss of quality of life,
often hang together with the lifestyle earlier in the life course. There is especially a profit yet
by healthy behaviour.
• Prevention is also needed to prevent the unnecessary care in the future.
Good use of scarce resources (finance and human resources) is important for a
sustainable solidarity with sick people. Prevention can contribute to flattening of the
staff shortages.