Disease and risk factors

• Risk factor->Lifestyle examples

  Alcohol consumption, diet, weight, smoking, amount of exercise, blood pressure
• Risk factor->Genetic examples


  DNA, ethnicity,gender
• Risk factor->Environmental examples


  Age, second-hand smoke, exposure to radiation, exposure to UV rays
• Heart disorder->Risk factors

  • Diet
  • Weight
  • Tobacco use
  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Lack of exercise
• Things to do to reduce chance of getting heart disease:

  • Eat a healthy diet
  • Exercise for 2.5 hours per week
  • Maintain a healthy weight
• Diabetes->Risk factors

  • Weight
  • Genetics
  • Lack of exercise
• How to reduce chance of getting diabetes

  • Regular exercise
  • Healthy diet
  • Lose weight
  • Don't smoke
  • Don't drink
• Lung disease->Risk factors

  • Smoking
  • Radon gas exposure
  • Coming into prolonged contact with asbestos
• Ways to reduce the chance of getting lung cancer

  • Stop smoking
  • Wear a mask when around dangerous gases
• COPD->Risk factors

  • Smoking
  • Indoor/outdoor pollution
  • Dust chemicals
• Ways to reduce chance of getting COPD

  • Don't smoke
  • Filter your air
• What is diabetes?


  When blood glucose level is above normal and not enough insulin is produced to bring it back down
• Symptoms of lung cancer:

  • Coughing up blood
  • Breathlessness
  • Chest pain
  • Wheezing
  • Weight loss
  • Throat pain
• Symptoms of COPD

  • Coughing excessively
  • Chest pain
  • Depression
• Correlation does not prove one variable causes another e.g smoking does not always cause lung cancer
• What is a casual mechanism?


  Something that explains how one factor influences another through a biological process
• Tar->Turns lungs pink to grey, is a carcinogen, clogs and irritates the lungs, makes colds, bronchitis and lung disease more likely.

  Can lead to COPD,increases risk of lung,throat,larynx and trachea cancer
• Hydrogen cyanide->Poisonous gas that doesn't cause cancer, can cause damage to heart and blood vessels, increases risk of other chemicals causing cancer

  Causes dangerous chemicals to be stuck in the lungs and airways
• Carbon monoxide-> Reduces the amount of oxygen carried to the cells in the body. Causes problems for a developing baby if the mother smokes and leads to an oxygen shortage causing low birth weight, premature birth and even stillbirth
• After smoking a cigarette up to 10% more of the blood will carry carbon dioxide
• Nicotine->Highly addictive and fast-acting drug, that alters chemical processes within the brain within 15 seconds of being inhaled.

  Can cause vomiting, seizures and depression of the nervous system.

  Raises heart rate and blood pressure

  Unpleasant withdrawal symptoms

  Undermines a foetus's development
• What is cancer


  Uncontrollable cell growth and division
• What causes cancer?


  Changes or mutations in DNA which leads to uncontrolled cell growth and division
• Benign tumours:

  • Not spread
  • Usually contained within a membrane
  • Not cancerous
  • Slow growing
• Malignant tumours:

  • Spread to other organs
  • Not contained within a membrane
  • Cancerous
  • Fast growing
• What is metastatic cancer?

  When cancer cells of a malignant tumour spread to other parts of the body through the blood system and form a secondary tumour
• Cancer treatment->Radiotherapy


  Targets cells with a dose of radiation to stop mitosis of the cancer cell
• Cancer treatment->Chemotherapy


  Uses chemicals to stop cells dividing and is a target for growing cells