What does the future hold for chronic disease prevention research?

Chronic, non‐communicable diseases and conditions affect millions of people worldwide and were identified in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 as being responsible for 73% of the world's deaths.1 In Australia, the burden of chronic disease and associated risk factors have a significant impact in terms of health, societal and economic costs.2 One‐in‐two Australians has a chronic disease or condition, with 87% of deaths associated with eight chronic diseases.3 Furthermore, as evidenced by the COVID‐19 pandemic, the presence of chronic disease and co‐morbidities can amplify the impact of existing and emerging communicable diseases.The major proximal risk factors for chronic disease include tobacco use, harmful consumption of alcohol, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and air pollution.5 Other risk factors that contribute to the burden of chronic disease and poor health include metabolic risk factors (e.g. overweight and obesity, hypertension, hyperglycaemia), injuries and mental ill‐health.3,6 Chronic disease is also exacerbated by system‐wide drivers – the social determinants of health – such as inequality and poverty.7In May 2013, the World Health Assembly voted to endorse the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Disease 2013–2020.8 This plan sets out nine voluntary global noncommunicable disease targets for member states. These targets aim to reduce the preventable and avoidable burden of chronic disease by taking a multisectoral approach to prevention, reducing population‐level exposure to the major risk factors for chronic disease, and improving health system capacity. However, despite the Global Action Plan driving some improvements such as increased tobacco control, more work is needed to substantially reduce chronic disease risk, morbidity and mortality and improve population health on a global scale.