Non-Communicable Diseases

• The leading causes of non-communicable disease include tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, and air pollution.
• Non-communicable diseases are chronic conditions that develop over time, often as the result of lifestyle choices or environmental factors.
• Good health is a state of physical and mental wellbeing.
• A disease is caused by part of the body not working properiy
• Diseases can be divided into two main tvpes: communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases. Non-communicable diseases cannot be spread between organisms, but communicable diseases can.
• There are many examples of how different diseases can interact

  with each other:

  Viruses infecting cells can be the trigger for cancers, such as

  cervical cancer.

  Diseases of the immune system mean that an individual

  is more likely to catch infectious diseases, e.g. people with

  HIV are more likely to get tuberculosis.
• Immune reactions triggered by a pathogen can cause allergies such as skin rashes and asthma.
• If a person is physically ill, this can lead to depression and mental illness.
• Cancer - this includes tumours or growths on organs which may become malignant if they grow out of control.
• Cardiovascular diseases - these include heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, and heart failure.
• Poor diet, stress and difficult life situations can increase the likelihood of developing certain diseases.
• Non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, can change a person's life and cost countries large sums of money. About 10% of the health budget in Britain is spent on diabetes.
• Non-communicable diseases are often caused by the interaction of a number of factors. These factors are called risk factors, because they make it more likely that a person will develop the disease.
• Risk factors can be: aspects of a person's lifestyle, e.g. lack of exercise,

  substances in the person's body or environment, e.g. chemicals from smoking.

  Sometimes there is a clear link between a risk factor and the chance of getting a disease, e.g. obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
• Risk factors don't necessarily cause the disease. Scientists need to look for a causal mechanism to prove that a risk factor is involved.

  Some causal mechanisms have been found, linking some diseases and risk factors.