Multiple Chronic Conditions

Why Is This Important?

In New Mexico, 26 percent of adults ages 45 years and older have been diagnosed with two or more chronic diseases. Within this broad age range, the rate is 21 percent for adults ages 45-64 and is over 34 percent for those ages 65 years and older. Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, emphysema, stroke, and diabetes account for five of the leading six causes of death in New Mexico. Another common chronic disease, arthritis, is a leading cause of disability among adults. Many chronic diseases share potentially modifiable risk factors such as physical inactivity, tobacco use, unhealthy eating, and excess weight, which tend to cluster in communities and individuals. These shared chronic disease risk factors, in turn, are strongly related to potentially modifiable social determinants such as poverty, unsafe neighborhoods, discrimination, and low educational attainment. This means that many New Mexicans living with the challenge of multiple chronic conditions may not have the health literacy skills, income, community resources, or access to healthcare services that they need to successfully take care of themselves.

Definition

Estimated percentage of New Mexican adults ages 45 years and older who have been diagnosed with two or more of the following chronic conditions: cardiovascular disease (heart attack, angina or coronary heart disease, and/or stroke), asthma (current), cancer (excluding skin cancer), COPD (emphysema and/or chronic bronchitis), arthritis, kidney disease, or diabetes

Data Source

How the Measure is Calculated

How Are We Doing?

From 2011 and 2017, the estimated percentage of New Mexican adults ages 45 years and older who reported having multiple chronic conditions varied a little each year, ranging from a low of 25.5 in 2013 to a high of 30.5 in 2016. Rates increased with age. In New Mexico in 2017, multiple chronic conditions were reported by 1 in 3 senior adults ages 65 and older compared to 1 in 5 middle-aged adults ages 45-64. Although increasing age is the strongest risk factor, multiple chronic conditions tend to be more common in communities and individuals with more risk factors and adverse social determinants of health. The data presented here, for example, show that adults who didn't graduate from college were more likely to report multiple chronic conditions than adults in the same age group who were college graduates.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

Currently, there are no comparable data available for the United States for the entire 2011-2017 time period. However, analysis of 2017 BRFSS data for the United States estimated the prevalence of multiple chronic conditions for ages 45-64 years as 20.8 percent compared to 40.2 percent for ages 65 years and older. The prevalence of multiple chronic conditions was very similar between New Mexico and the United States for ages 45-64 years, but was lower in New Mexico compared to the United States for ages 65 years and older.

What Is Being Done?

The New Mexico Chronic Disease Prevention Council, a statewide coalition, is working with diverse partners to implement the New Mexico Shared Strategic Plan for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, which was recently updated for 2017-2021. Additionally, community and health care system partners throughout New Mexico are delivering the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) in English and Spanish, providing skill building crucial to managing one or more chronic conditions. CDSMP is one of several programs offered through Paths to Health NM. All programs are designed to help adults gain the confidence and skills they need to better manage or prevent chronic health conditions or injuries.

Evidence-based Practices

Coordinate chronic disease prevention efforts across CDC's Four Key Domains: 1) Achieving policy and environmental changes that support healthy communities. 2) Achieving improvements to the way that health care systems detect, manage and control chronic diseases and risk factors through early detection and clinical preventive services. 3) Enhancing clinic-community linkages so that people at high risk can better take charge of their health through self-management programs and other community supports. 4) Providing data and information for decision making at the state level through a strong foundation in surveillance and epidemiology.

Available Services

For information about the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program and other available programs in your community, please access the Paths to Health NM website at https://www.pathstohealthnm.org/.

More Resources

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinated Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Program (http://www.cdc.gov/coordinatedchronic/) 2. New Mexico Chronic Disease Prevention Council (chronicdiseasenm.org) 3. For information about the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program and other available programs in your community, call Paths to Health NM at (505)850-0176 or (575)703-2343.

Health Program Information

In support of coordinated chronic disease efforts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has encouraged state chronic disease programs to work collaboratively by sharing basic functions such as data management, communication, partnership development, and implementation of a statewide chronic disease plan. CDC has provided funding to a number of states, including New Mexico, to maximize the reach of chronic disease programs.