More than half of Canadians are living with at least one chronic disease including muscular problems such as arthritis, cardiovascular conditions such as heart disease, respiratory illnesses such as asthma, along with diabetes and mental illness, suggests a recent survey, carried out by business services firm Deloitte.

The international survey has questioned people in 12 countries and observed that more Americans rated their overall health as "excellent" or "good" as compared to other participants.

"It can have an impact economically, it can have an impact socially”, added Deloitte's Senior Manager of Health Services for Canada, Mark Fam. "We have seen, in some of the financial questions we ask, that many consumers report an increase in their out-of-pocket costs for health care. And typically you would see that more associated with those who have chronic disease”.

While commenting on the finding, the President of Canadian Medical Association, Jeff Turnbull said that rising rate of chronic disease indicates that the county is actually "a victim of its own success”.

Further, he marked certain chronic conditions including hypertension as well as respiratory problems as illnesses of past as can be treated, nowadays.

In addition, he also stressed on the need to move from an "acute care paradigm" to a "chronic-disease model” to efficiently deal with the situation.