Psychosocial, Behavioral, and Biological Aspects of Chronic Diseases

Abstract

Behavioral, psychosocial, and societal risk factors have been associated with several chronic diseases. Biological processes closely linked to lifestyle, stress, and psychological status appear to mediate the associations. Lifestyle and psychosocial interventions have been developed to prevent and manage chronic diseases. Field and laboratory studies help to specify causal pathways connecting lifestyle and psychosocial variables to disease processes. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials are required to determine whether interventions lower rates of illness and death.