<Tr> <Th> ICD - 9 - CM </Th> <Td> xxx </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> (edit on Wikidata) </Td> </Tr> <P> A non-communicable disease (NCD) is a medical condition or disease that is not caused by infectious agents (non-infectious or non-transmissible). NCDs can refer to chronic diseases which last for long periods of time and progress slowly . Sometimes, NCDs result in rapid deaths such as seen in certain diseases such as autoimmune diseases, heart diseases, stroke, cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and others . While sometimes referred to as synonymous with "chronic diseases", NCDs are distinguished only by their non-infectious cause, not necessarily by their duration, though some chronic diseases of long duration may be caused by infections . Chronic diseases require chronic care management, as do all diseases that are slow to develop and of long duration . </P> <P> NCDs are the leading cause of death globally . In 2012, they caused 68% of all deaths (38 million) up from 60% in 2000 . About half were under age 70 and half were women . Risk factors such as a person's background, lifestyle and environment increase the likelihood of certain NCDs . Every year, at least 5 million people die because of tobacco use and about 2.8 million die from being overweight . High cholesterol accounts for roughly 2.6 million deaths and 7.5 million die because of high blood pressure . </P>

What does ncd stand for in medical terms