topic 5 health

Created by

Pranitaa Manicassamy

Cards (75)

World Health Organization (WHO) coordinates global health improvement efforts
WHO defines good health as complete physical, social, and mental well-being
Social well-being:
Relationships and environment impact well-being
Physical well-being:
Free from disease
Healthy habits
Limited harmful substance intake
Mental well-being:
Self-perception
Emotional health
Improvement in one category can positively affect others
Correlation between health and income:
Increase in average annual income correlates with increased life expectancy up to $40k USD per person
Uncertain causation due to various influencing factors such as access to healthcare and healthy lifestyles
Disease is a body structure or process problem not from injury
Two categories of diseases:
Communicable: Spread person to person via pathogens
Non-communicable: Not spread person to person; caused by lifestyle or genetic factors
Diseases may correlate, meaning having one increases the risk of another
HIV damages the immune system, making other infections more likely
Diseases weaken the natural body defenses, which aids in pathogen entry
Body defenses against pathogens include:
Chemical barriers (e.g., lysozyme in tears, hydrochloric acid in the stomach)
Physical barriers (e.g., mucus, ciliated cells, skin)
Disease can impair an organ system, increasing susceptibility to other diseases
Non-communicable diseases:
Genetic disorders: Caused by faulty alleles, inherited but not spread to others.
Poor diet or malnutrition: Results in deficiency diseases.
Malnutrition: Too little or too much of specific nutrients from food.
Lack of certain nutrients causes deficiency diseases.
Disease caused by deficiency of nutrient - Kwashiorkor
nutrient : protein
symptoms : Enlarged belly, small muscles, failure to grow properly
good source in diet : Meat, fish, dairy, eggs, pulses (e.g. lentils)
Disease caused by deficiency of nutrient - scurvy
nutrients : vitamin c
symptoms : Swelling and bleeding gums, muscle and joint pain, tiredness
good source in diet : Citrus fruits (e.g. oranges) and some vegetables (e.g. broccoli)
Disease caused by deficiency of nutrient - Rickets or osteomalacia
nutrient : vitamin D / calcium
symptoms : Soft bones, curved leg bones
good source in diet : Vitamin D: oily fish , Calcium: dairy products
Disease caused by deficiency of nutrient - Anaemia
nutrient : iron
symptoms : Red blood cells that are smaller than normal and in reduced number, tiredness
good source in diet : Red meat, dark green leafy vegetables, egg yolk
alcohol & disease
Lifestyle choices, like alcohol consumption, can lead to diseases.
Ethanol in alcoholic drinks is a chemical drug that alters brain function, acting as a depressant.
Causes short-term effects like memory loss, impaired coordination, and slurred speech.
Long-term alcohol consumption can lead to liver disease, including cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis reduces liver function and can be fatal.
Alcohol-related liver disease is a significant cause of death, with a 450% increase in the UK over 30 years.
Treating liver disease costs over £500 million annually in the UK.
Malnutrition from high sugar and fat diets can cause obesity
Obesity is excessive fat accumulation around organs like the heart and kidneys
Some fat is essential for organ cushioning, vitamin storage, and energy reserves
Excessive fat increases the risk of diseases like cardiovascular disease (CVD)
Poor circulatory system function can lead to conditions like high blood pressure and heart attacks
Measuring body fat is challenging
Alternatives like BMI (mass/height^2) and waist-to-hip ratio (waist circumference/hip circumference) are used
BMI may not accurately identify obesity in individuals with large frames or muscle mass
smoking and disease
Tobacco smoke contains harmful substances damaging lungs:
Nicotine: Highly addictive, binds to brain receptors, causing cravings.
Tar: Contains carcinogens, leading to cancer.
Carbon monoxide: Binds to red blood cell haemoglobin, reducing oxygen transport.
Substances also damage blood vessels, raising blood pressure, narrowing vessels, and increasing blood clot risk.
Increases risk of cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
A major trigger for developing a CVD is the development of atheromas in the arteries.
Atheroma – a fatty deposit found on the artery wall at an area of damaged cells made of cholesterol, white blood cells and calcium ions.
The condition where atheromas are formed is called Atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis stages:
Chemicals inhaled into lungs are absorbed into bloodstream.
Substances damage artery lining.
Fat accumulates in artery wall at damage site.
Artery lumen narrows due to fat buildup.
Reduced blood flow downstream leads to insufficient oxygen for cells.
Blood clots may form, blocking arteries or traveling to other parts of the body (heart, brain), causing heart attacks or strokes.
Treating CVD
A doctor may advise a patient with CVD or at risk of CVD (a person with high blood pressure) to;
Change their lifestyle – regularly exercise, eat a diet low in saturated fats, stop smoking, reduce alcohol intake
Administer medication – drugs that reduce blood pressure. This will be taken for the rest of the patient’s life.
Surgically operate – to insert a stent into the arteries. This causes the lumen of the artery to widen allowing blood and oxygen to pass through it.
communicable diseases
Communicable diseases spread from person to person.
Pathogens (microorganisms or viruses) cause communicable diseases.
Four main pathogen categories:
Bacteria: Prokaryotic single-celled organisms.
Virus: Non-living particles infect cells and replicate.
Protist: Eukaryotic, mainly single-celled organisms.
Fungi: Eukaryotic, mainly multicellular organisms.
Vectors transmit pathogens between individuals.
Example: Mosquitoes transmit Plasmodium, causing malaria.
Diseases - Cholera
caused by - Vibrio Cholera (bacteria )
symptoms - severe, watery diarrhoea ,feeling and being sick and stomach cramps
transmitted by - Drinking contaminated water
prevention - Use water that has been treated to kill pathogens and boil water before use
Diseases - Tuberculosis (TB)
caused by - Mycobacterium tuberculosis (bacteria)
symptoms - Coughs ,Fever ,Weight Loss ,Blood stained sputum (mucus)
transmitted by - airborne
prevention - Wash hands and use tissues when you sneeze
Diseases - Stomach Ulcers
caused by - Helicobacter Pylori (bacteria)
symptoms - inflammation (ulcers) in the stomach lining, stomach pain
transmitted by - Eating contaminated food
prevention - Cook food thoroughly before eating, wash hands before food is prepared and do not touch mouth before handling food.
Diseases - Chlamydia
caused by - Chlamydia trachomatis (bacteria)
symptoms - People may suffer pain when urinating. Women may get pain in the abdomen whereas men may experience pain in their testicles.
transmitted by - Exchanging bodily fluids (sexual fluids)
prevention - Use of condoms during sexual intercourse
Diseases - Chalara Dieback
caused by - Chlalara (fungus)
symptoms - Lesions on trees and leaves die
transmitted by - Spores carried by the wind
prevention - Monitor the spread (cannot control)
Diseases - Malaria
caused by - Plasmodium (protist)
symptoms - Fever, weakness, sickness
transmitted by - Mosquitos are a vector for the protist. They will have picked up the protist from biting one person then inject it into the next.
prevention -Use mosquito nets and take anti-malarial drugs when visiting countriesprone to malaria.
Diseases - HIV
caused by - Human Immunodeficiency Virus (virus)
symptoms - Attacks and destroys white blood cells in the immune system causing them to be susceptible to secondary infections
transmitted by - Exchanging bodily fluids (sexual fluids, blood)
prevention -Use of condoms during sexual intercourse and do not share needles