The June 2024 issue of the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine (YJBM), on Chronic Disease, was published on PubMed Central (PMC) on June 28. This focus issue features articles on the global burden of long-term health challenges.
Highlights of the issue include an original research paper by Boakye et al. (Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana) where they conducted a study on advance care planning (ACP) for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD is a global public health issue but is especially prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, creating an urgent need for palliative care and advance planning.
Next, we present original research by Mete (Yorkville University, Fredericton, NB, Canada) on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the impact of chronic respiratory illness on quality of life. Mete explores the impact that social support of family and friends can have for patients with COPD.
Buiting and Sonke (Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) explore the changing terminology of “palliative care” to “chronicity” in a perspectives piece about cancer.
Lastly, Parker et al. (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; WPLab, Inc., Durham, NC, USA) explore how environmental mismatch can lead to long-term illnesses. This perspectives piece shows how biota alteration and environmental incompatibility impact human health worldwide.
Read the entire YJBM archive for free on PMC. The YJBM is open-access for all.
Deputy Editors of this issue: Noah Yann Lee (Computational Biology & Biomedical Informatics Program, Yale University) and Bassel Shanab (MD Program, Yale School of Medicine)