Chapter 7

• Non-communicable disease


  A disease that is not transmitted from person to person, either contracted through a person's lifetime or someone is born with a genetic disease
• Non-communicable diseases account for 71 percent of all deaths worldwide, a lot larger than the amount of deaths from communicable diseases
• Examples of non-communicable diseases

  • Alzheimer's
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Cancer
  • Diabetes
  • Lung disease
  • Stroke
  • Kidney failure
• The leading cause of death from non-communicable diseases is cardiovascular diseases, which account for 21 percent of all deaths by non-communicable diseases
• Non-communicable diseases


  More prevalent in low-income countries, with 46 percent of all non-communicable disease deaths occurring in countries with low income
• Reasons for higher prevalence in low-income countries


  • Lack of medical capacities to fight these diseases
• Risk factors for non-communicable diseases

  • Genetics
  • Lifestyle choices
  • Smoking
  • Obesity
  • Alcohol consumption
• Smoking

  Increases chance of contracting non-communicable diseases like lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory problems
• Smoking while pregnant


  Can lead to non-communicable diseases in the baby, including stillbirth and respiratory problems
• Obesity


  Increases chance of contracting non-communicable diseases like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease
• Alcohol consumption


  Can cause liver damage and increase chance of non-communicable diseases like stroke, mouth cancer, and bowel cancer
• Lifestyle factors can increase chance of contracting non-communicable diseases, but correlation does not mean direct causation
• Causal mechanism


  When a scientist can explain a correlation and provide an explanation for why the two variables are linked
• Smoking is not the only factor that can increase chance of lung cancer, other factors like radiation exposure and air quality also play a role</b>
• Benign tumors


  Easier to treat as they are confined to one place and don't move
• Malignant tumors


  Can move and infect the bloodstream, traveling to multiple organs
• Melanoma is a specific type of malignant tumor that accounts for 2,000 deaths in the UK each year, often caused by UV radiation exposure
• Cancer treatments


  • Radiotherapy
  • Chemotherapy
• Chemotherapy has side effects like hair loss, but scientists are working to improve the process and make drugs more targeted