Non-communicable diseases

• All diseases have risk factors — things that increase a person's chance of getting that disease.

  Non-communicable diseases are caused by the interaction of a number of genetic and lifestyle factors.
• These factors interact to increase or decrease the risk of a person developing a non-communicable disease.

  Lifestyle factors include:

  • Alcohol
  • Smoking
  • Diet
  • Exercise
  • Stress

  An individual's family history can also influence how likely they are to suffer from a disease. This is because genetic factors can be inherited.
• Cardiovascular diseases are a group of non-communicable diseases that affect heart function.

  • In cardiovascular diseases, the blood vessels taking blood to the heart become narrowed. This causes the heart muscle to receive insufficient oxygen, which can lead to a heart attack.
• The risk of cardiovascular disease is increased by lifestyle factors, including:

  • obesity
  • smoking
  • a lack of exercise
  • a diet high in cholesterol, saturated fat and/or salt.
• Diseases associated with smoking

  Smoking is one of the main lifestyle factors that increases the risk of developing diseases that affect the lungs.

  Cigarette smoke contains toxic chemicals. Many of these are carcinogenic, which means they can cause cancer.

  The risk of lung, throat and mouth cancer is all increased by smoking.

  Smoking also increases the risk of developing the lung disease, bronchitis. This is because chemicals in cigarette smoke can irritate the lungs, causing the tissues to become inflamed.