B7

• 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
• Low income countries

  46 percent of all non-communicable disease deaths occur in these countries
• Reason for higher non-communicable disease deaths in low income countries


  They don't have the medical capacities to fight these diseases
• Risk factors for non-communicable diseases

  • Genetics
  • Lifestyle choices
  • Smoking
  • Obesity
  • Alcohol consumption
• How smoking increases risk of lung cancer


  Cigarettes contain a carcinogenic substance called tar that can increase the chance of cells mutating
• How smoking increases risk of cardiovascular disease


  Cigarettes deposit fatty substances into arteries, causing them to clot and blood flow to be restricted
• How smoking affects respiratory system


  Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide which gets carried by the blood instead of oxygen, leading to shortness of breath and coughing
• Smoking during pregnancy can lead to the baby being born dead or with respiratory problems
• How obesity increases risk of type 2 diabetes


  The body can no longer create enough insulin to lower blood sugar as it gets worn out from producing too much insulin
• How obesity increases risk of cardiovascular disease


  Fat can build up in arteries, restricting blood flow to the heart and potentially causing a heart attack
• Exercising is a great way to lower the chance of getting a non-communicable disease
• How alcohol consumption increases risk of non-communicable diseases


  Alcohol is bad for the liver, and liver damage can cause many problems in the digestive system and lead to uncontrollable weight loss
• Long-term misuse of alcohol can result in increased chance of stroke, mouth cancer, bowel cancer and many other non-communicable diseases
• Correlation vs causation


  A correlation between two variables does not necessarily mean there is a direct causal mechanism, scientists need to prove a causal mechanism to explain the correlation
• Causal mechanism


  An explanation for why a correlation exists, such as the link between smoking and lung cancer due to the carcinogenic effects of tar
• There can be outliers in correlations due to other factors not accounted for, such as exposure to radiation or air quality
• Benign tumors


  Tumors that are confined to one place and easier to treat by removal
• Malignant tumors


  Tumors that can spread through the bloodstream and infect multiple organs, including melanomas which account for 2,000 deaths per year in the UK
• Cancer treatments


  • Radiotherapy
  • Chemotherapy
• Chemotherapy has side effects like hair loss but scientists are working to improve it by developing more targeted drugs