B2 Risk Factors for Non-Communical Diseases (page 37) Flashcards
What is Rick Factors?
They increase your chance of getting a disease.
things that are linked to an increase in the likelihood that a person will devlop a certain disease during their lifetime. (they don’t guarantee that someone will get the disease).
Risk factors are often aspects of a person’s lifestyle, what do this mean?
how much exercise a person may do.
They can also be the presence of certain substances in the environment (e.g. air pollution) or
substanes in your body (e.g. asbestos fibres - abestos was a material used in buildings until it was realised that the fibres could build up in your airways and cause diseases such as cancer later in life).
Many non-communicable diseases are caused by several different risk factors interacting with what?
interacting with each other rather than one factor alone.
Life style factors can have a different impact locally, nationally and globally, give examples?
in developed countries, non-communicable diseases are more common as people generally have a higher income and can buy high-fat food.
Nationally, people from deprived areas are more likely to smoke, have a poor diet and not exercise. This means the incidence of cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabeties is higher in those areas.
Your individual choices affect the local incidence of disease.
What rish factors are able to directly cause a disease?
Smoking
Obesity
Drink too much alcohol
Smoking when pregnant
Cancer.
Why can smoking a direct disease risk factor?
Smoking has been proven to directly cause cardiovascular disease, lung disease and lung cancer. It damages the walls of arteries and the cells in the lining of the lungs.
Why can obesity a direct disease risk factor?
It’s thought that obesity can directly cause Type 2 Diabetes by making the body less sensitive or resistant to insulin, meaning that it struggles to control the concentration of glucose in the blood.
Why can Drinking too much Alcohol a direct disease riak factor?
Drinking too much Alcohol has been shown to cause liver disease. Too much alcohol can affect the brain function too. It can damage the nerve cells in the brain, causing the brain to lose volume.
Why can Smoking when pregnant a direct disease riak factor?
Smoking when pregnant can cause lots of health problems for the unborn baby. Drinking alcohol has similar effects.
Why can Cancer a direct disease risk factor?
Cancer can be directly caused by exposure to certain substances or radiation. Things that cause cancer are known as carcinogens. Ionising radiation (e.g. from X-rays - is an example of a carcinogen.
How are Risk Factors identified?
they are identified by scientists looking for correlations in data, and corralation doesn’t always equal the cause (see page 9).
(corralation means a mutual relationship or connection between two or more things)
Some risk factors aren’t capable of directly causing a disease, give examples?
lack of exercise and a high fat diet are heavily linked to an increased chance of cardiovascular disease, but they can’t cause the disease directly. It’s the resulting high blood pressure and high ‘bad’ cholesterol levels (see p.34) that can actually cause it.
The cost of non-communicable diseases in Humans is costly, explain why?
Tens of millions of people around the world die from non-communicable diseases per year. People with these diseases may have a lower quality of life or a shorter lifespan.
This not only affects the suffers themselves, but their loved ones too.
Also its important to think about the financial cost, as the cost to the NHS if researching and treating these diseases is huge, and it’s the same for other health services and organisations around the world.
What can the financial affects of families and the patient have to go through, knowing a family member has a disease?
Families may have to move or adapt their home to help a family member with a disease, which can be costly. Also if the family member with the disese has to give up work or dies, they family’s income will be reduced. A reduction in the number of people able to work can also affect a country’s economy.
Give an example of a type of risk factor other than an aspect of a person’s lifestyle? (1 mark)
Non-communical Disease
The presence of certain substances in the body/ the presence of certain substances in the enviornment.(1 mark)
