Tackling the Root Causes of Chronic Disease

The Irish healthcare system is buckling under the weight of chronic disease. Scenes of overcrowded corridors packed full of patients on trolleys, long waiting lists and cancelled appointments have become commonplace. Cardiovascular disease (heart attacks, peripheral artery disease etc.) and cerebrovascular disease (strokes ,TIA, aneurysms etc.) are the top two drivers of mortality (death) and morbidity (disability) both in Ireland and at a global level.

The development of these diseases is the result of a long journey quantified in aberrations in the key metrics we target at IIPM. Aberrant blood sugar, aberrant blood pressure, aberrant cholesterol and lipid profile and aberrant body composition are the major causes. Despite the simplicity of these metrics and their amenability to improvements via simple lifestyle interventions, the fundamental importance of these metrics in medicine cannot be overstated. Unfortunately at both an individual and public health level they are under measured and under managed.

At a global level millions of people are walking around with undiagnosed pre-diabetes , pre-hypertension, aberrant cholesterol levels and unhealthy body compositions, on a slow but inexorable march towards death and disability. The tragedy of this situation is that early identification and simple lifestyle interventions are all that is needed to make drastic improvements in the health of individuals and the make major improvements at a population and public health level. Can you please rewrite this retaining the key messaging and any writing you think is well written and compelling. Please include data on the % of people walking around with undiagnosed hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and unhealthy body compositions. Please include similar data on these stats specific for Ireland.

Globally, prediabetes is a growing concern, with the prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) at 9.1% (464 million people) in 2021 and projected to increase to 10.0% (638 million) by 2045. The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) was 5.8% (298 million) in 2021 and is expected to rise to 6.5% (414 million) by 2045. High-income countries show a higher prevalence of IGT and IFG. Considering the prevalence of prediabetes in high-income countries and extrapolating based on similar economies, Ireland likely faces a significant prediabetes challenge, underlining the importance of early identification and intervention.