Association of the Chronic Diseases in the Same Person and Their Association with Overweight

T HE problem of disease has become one of the major concerns of public health. Conditions classed as chronic lead to a great deal of incapacity during middle age, the most productive years of life. A study of morbidity conducted in the Eastern Health District of Baltimore has revealed that only 14 per cent of the total population was affected by disease. However, one-third of all of the medical calls rendered to the population annually and about one-fourth of the hospital admissions were because of illness. These facts serve to emphasize the gravity of the problem of disease. A study of the association of the diseases in the same person and their association with overweight in a sample population is of more than academic interest. Data from the morbidity survey made in the Eastern Health District of Baltimore are used for this study and are presented in this report.