B7 - Non-Communicable Diseases - B7.1, B7.2, B7.3 Flashcards
What is a non-communicable disease?
A disease that is not infectious, and effects people as a result of their lifestyle, their genetic makeup or factors with their environment
What are risk factors?
Factors in you lifestyle, genetic makeup of environment that can make you more or less likely to catch a disease
What are 2 examples of risk factors?
Diet, obesity, fitness levels, smoking, drinking alcohol and exposure to carcinogens such as ionising radiation
What is a correlation?
A link between two factors that appear to relate to one another when plotted together and compared
What is a causal mechanism?
When the correlation between two factors can be explained biologically, e.g. chances of getting lung cancer are increased with smoking as carcinogens are being taken into your lungs
When does a tumour form and why?
A tumour forms when the control of the cell cycle is lost and cells start forming abnormally and uncontrollably
Why do tumours form abnormally?
As they divide and form very quickly, with very little time in between each division for growing properly, resulting in unbalanced and odd cells
What is a benign tumour?
A tumour that is normally contained within a membrane and won’t spread. However, it can still be very dangerous if it puts pressure on a vital organ, such as the brain - as it has nowhere else to grow. They also grow extremely rapidly
What are malignant tumour cells?
Malignant tumour cells are often the ones referred to as ‘cancer’. They spread and break into pieces that are carried around the body. They then lodge in a different part of healthy tissue and divide rapidly to form secondary tissues. As a result of their fragmentation and the fact that they can live longer than normal cells, they are very hard to treat
What is a carcinogen?
A factor that increases the risk of someone getting cancer
What are the two treatments for cancer that are most used currently?
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy
What is radiotherapy?
A treatment whereby cancer cells are killed using small doses of radiation. It works, but can also damage healthy cells
What is chemotherapy?
Chemotherapy is the use of dangerous chemicals to try and kill or hamper the tumour cells. There are many different types of chemotherapy and scientists are currently attempting to specialise them into different types for different cancers
Why do smokers often feel more breathless than non smoker when doing exercise?
As their blood cells stop carrying as much oxygen, rather they carry around carbon monoxide. This results in them having a deficiency of oxygen when they need it most
What can smoking during pregnancy lead to?
Stillbirths, premature births and low birthweight babies
