Health and disease

• Health


  The state of physical and mental wellbeing
• Diseases


  Often responsible for causing ill health
• Types of diseases


  • Communicable diseases
  • Non-communicable diseases
• Communicable diseases


  • Can spread from person to person or between animals and people
  • Caused by things like bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi
  • Sometimes described as contagious or infectious diseases
  • Examples: measles and malaria
• Non-communicable diseases


  • Cannot spread between people or between animal and people
  • Generally last for a long time and get worse slowly
  • Examples: asthma, cancer and coronary heart disease
• Pathogen


  A microorganism that can cause a disease when it infects its host
• Risk factors for non-communicable diseases


  • Genetic factors
  • Environmental factors (e.g. asbestos exposure)
  • Lifestyle factors (e.g. poor diet, lack of exercise)
• Problems with immune system


  Increased chance of suffering from communicable diseases like influenza
• Infection by certain viruses


  Can trigger some types of cancer
• Infection by pathogens


  Can trigger allergic reactions or worsen symptoms of asthma
• Severe physical health problems


  Can trigger mental health issues like depression
• Other factors affecting health

  • Diet
  • Stress
  • Life situation (e.g. access to medicines, healthy food, condoms)