Non- infectious diseases

• Non-infectious disease


  A disease that does not involve a pathogenic organism and therefore cannot be transmitted from one person to another
• Categories of non-infectious diseases

  • Genetic or inherited diseases
  • Nutritional diseases
  • Environmental exposure diseases
  • Cancers
  • Autoimmune diseases
• Nutritional diseases


  • scurvy
  • rickets
  • liver disease
  • obesity
• Cancers


  • lung
  • skin
  • brain
  • cervical
  • prostate
• Non-infectious disease


  A disease that does not involve a pathogenic organism and therefore cannot be transmitted from one person to another
• Categories of non-infectious diseases

  • Genetic or inherited diseases
  • Nutritional diseases
  • Environmental exposure diseases
  • Cancers
  • Autoimmune diseases
• Nutritional diseases


  • scurvy
  • rickets
  • liver disease
  • obesity
• Cancers


  • lung
  • skin
  • brain
  • cervical
  • prostate
• Autoimmune diseases are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors
• Genetic diseases


  • Single-gene diseases
  • Chromosomal diseases
  • Complex disorders
• Single-gene diseases


  Only one gene causes the disease
• Chromosomal diseases


  Whole chromosomes (or parts of chromosomes) are missing or changed
• Complex disorders


  Mutations in two or more genes and/or environmental factors
• Categories 1 and 2 (single-gene and chromosomal diseases) are often hereditary diseases
• Chromosome diseases occur at conception or shortly after
• Some people or age groups make these diseases or disorders more likely in their children
• Single-gene diseases


  Diseases that result from a genetic mutation in the past which is then passed down through the generations
• Whether the disease presents or not

  Determined by Mendelian genetics
• Types of single gene disorders

  • Dominant
  • Recessive
  • X-linked
• Dominant


  • If one parent has the disorder their children will have a 50 percent chance have have the disorder as well
  • Examples: Achondroplasia (form of dwarfism), Marfan syndrome (effects connective tissue in limbs and the heart)
• Recessive


  • If both parents have an abnormal gene their offspring have a 25% chance of having the disorder
  • People with one gene present in their genome are called carriers
  • Examples: Cystic fibrosis, Sickle cell anaemia, Tay-Sachs disease (fatal degeneration of the central nervous system)
• 1. linked


  • The disorder is determined by genes on the X chromosome
  • Males are mainly affected because they only have 1 X chromosome
  • Daughters of men with the disorder are carriers of the trait and have a 50% chance of passing it to their children
  • Examples: Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Haemophilia
• Chromosomal diseases


  Chromosomal abnormalities may be inherited from the parent or may occur spontaneously
• Types of chromosomal abnormalities

  • Aneuploidy
  • Deletion
  • Inversion
  • Translocation
  • Mosaicism
• Aneuploidy


  • More or fewer chromosomes than the normal number
  • Examples: Down syndrome (trisomy 21 – an extra chromosome 21), Turner syndrome (missing a sex-chromosome)
• Deletion


  • Section of a chromosome (DNA sequence) is missing
• Inversion


  • A section the chromosome turns upside down and reattaches itself
  • Inversions may or may not cause birth defects depending on their position
• Translocation


  • Rearrangement of a chromosome segment from one location to another, either within the same chromosome or to another
  • Sometimes translocations have no effect
• Mosaicism


  • Presence of two or more chromosome patterns in the cells of a person, resulting in two or more cell lines (for example, some with 46 chromosomes, others with 47)
• Complex disorders


  These may be due to several problems, or a combined effect of genes and the environment. It is difficult to predict inheritance of abnormalities caused by multiple factors. Examples include heart defects, cleft lip or cleft palate, and neural tube defects (defects in the spine or brain).
• Investigate the causes and effects

  Choose a non-infectious disease and investigate what causes it and what are the effects it has on a person with the disease or disorder.

  You can try these websites:

  ‘List of Genetic Diseases’

  https://www.genome.gov/For-Patients-and-Families/Genetic-Disorders

  ‘Information About 5 Common Genetic Disorders’

  https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/information-5-common-genetic-disorders/

  OR use these PDFs (click on the image to download a PDF):

  • information on Sickle-cell anaemia 
  • information on Down syndrome


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• Environmental diseases


  Diseases caused by factors in the environment that can cause harm
• Almost a quarter of all diseases are caused by environmental exposure
• Types of environmental diseases

  • Lifestyle diseases (cardiovascular disease, substance abuse diseases, lung cancer associated with smoking)
  • Diseases caused by physical factors in the environment (skin cancer caused by UV radiation, altitude sickness, the Bends, emerging diseases from living in space)
  • Diseases caused by exposure to toxic or irritant chemicals in the environment (heavy metal poisoning, asbestosis)
• Environmental factors


  • Can be divided into 3 major areas: lifestyle, physical factors, and exposure to toxic/irritant chemicals
• Environmental diseases are a very broad category
• Inadequate nutrition, over nutrition or malnutrition


  Can cause disease
• Diseases caused by inadequate nutrition, over nutrition or malnutrition


  Deficiencies in some components of a healthy diet<|>Not having sufficient nutrition to maintain health
• Consequences of these diseases in a growing child

  • Effects on normal growth and development of their bodies
• Overeating


  Leads to obesity and associated diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke