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38% of American women live with chronic disease. That’s more than the 30% of men and is rising. On top of that, six out of the top 10 causes of death in women are chronic diseases — often preventable. My two-part series on chronic disease in women and how to prevent them, even when you have another chronic illness, such as rheumatoid arthritis, is now live on HealthCentral. Links to both articles below.

Part One: Chronic Disease in Women: Deadly and Costly.

“Women are more likely than men to have a chronic disease. In fact, 38 percent of American women have at least one chronic health condition, compared to 30 percent of men. Of the 10 leading causes of death for women, six are chronic diseases.

That’s enough to make you curl up in a ball and hide. But it’s important that we don’t, because there are things we can do as individuals and as a society to prevent these chronic diseases.

Root causes

One of the primary causes of the rapid increase of many preventable chronic diseases is obesity.

“About 40 percent of the adult population is considered to be obese and that’s doubled since the 1980s,” said Ken Thorpe, chairman of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Diseases, a global non-profit organization in a telephone interview. “The reason that’s so important is that obesity is linked to a whole host of chronic healthcare conditions.”

Thorpe explained that specifically the rates of type 2 diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), and bad cholesterol are increasing rapidly, following the increase in obesity. Moreover, “roughly 80 percent of those new cases of diabetes and heart disease are potentially preventable,” he said.”

Read more about the impact of chronic disease in women on HealthCentral.

Part Two: What Women with RA Can Do to Protect Their Health

“Certain chronic disease is on the rise in women and if you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), your risk increases even more. For instance, type 2 diabetes and heart disease are also increasing in women for other reasons, especially obesity, and are becoming some of the leading causes of disability and death. However, many of these are preventable, even when you have other types of chronic illness, such as RA. Protecting your overall health will help you be well in the future.”

Learn more about how to protect your health with rheumatoid arthritis on HealthCentral.