health and disease

• definition of health

  health is the state of physical and mental well-being
• communicable diseases

  can be spread from person to person or between animals and people. They can be caused by things like bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. eg. Measles or Malaria
• non communicable

  cannot be spread between people. They generally last a long time and get worse slowly, eg. asthma, cancer, or coronary heart disease
• different diseases may interact:

  1. defects in the immune system mean that an individual is more likely to suffer from infectious diseases
  2. viruses living in cells can be the trigger for cancers
  3. immune reactions initially caused by a pathogen can trigger allergies such as skin rashes and asthma
  4. severe physical ill health can lead to depression and other mental illnesses
• other factors that affect health:

  • poor diet
  • stress
  • life situations, eg. what you have access to
• risk factors for non-communicable diseases

  • aspects of a persons lifestyle (eg. how much excercise)
  • substances in the persons body or environment (eg. air pollution)
• risk factors that directly cause a disease

  1. smoking - causes cardio vascular disease, lung disease and lung cancer. it damages the walls in arteries and lining of lungs
  2. obesity - causes type 2 diabetes
  3. alcohol - cause liver disease and damage nerve cells in the brain
  4. smoking when pregnant - cause health problems for baby
  5. carcinogens - cause cancer by substances or radiation (ionising radiation)
• cost of non-communicable diseases

  1. Human costs - people with these diseases may have a lower quality of life or a shorter lifespan.
  2. Financial cost - research and treatment is costly for NHS. families may have to adapt their home. If the person is so ill they can't work, the household salary is reduced