Chronic conditions--the new health challenge.

An estimated 90 000 people die daily from chronic, noncommunicable conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and asthma. Another 8 000 people die daily from HIV/AIDS. More than 24 million people are coping with schizophrenia, and over 150 million are clinically depressed. 1 Although these conditions have different causes, the demands they place on patients, families, health care systems and governments are remarkably similar. From a health care perspective all can be considered chronic conditions in that they persist across time and require some degree of health care management.