Chapter 3 - Factors Influencing Health Status and Burden of Disease Flashcards
The Four Influential Factors on Health Status of Australians
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- High body mass index
- Dietary risks
What is smoking?
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled and absorbed into the bloodstream.
What does the impact of tobacco include?
The impact of tobacco includes the risks associated with past tobacco use, current use, and exposure to second hand smoke.
What Is Alcohol Use Disorder and What May Indicate the Presence of This?
Alcohol misuse over a period of time can indicate the presence of an alcohol use disorder - a disease characterised by ongoing risky alcohol consumption.
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is when a person can’t stop drinking once they have started, or has a constant desire to drink alcohol.
Binge Drinking
Binge drinking in Australia is defined as consuming more than four standard drinks in one sitting.
Health Concerns due to Smoking
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cancer
- Asthma
- Prenatal and infancy health concerns
- Respiratory conditions
- Infections
Burden of Disease due to Smoking
- Responsible for just under 20% of burden of disease for coronary heart disease and 10% for asthma.
- Responsible for almost 80% of lung cancer DALYs and 72% Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) DALYs.
- Low birth weight is a leading cause of burden of disease in 0-14 year olds.
Health Status due to Smoking
- Increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Increased risk of infection due to low birth weight contributing to increased infant and under-5 mortality rates.
- Increased morbidity from asthma attacks and infectious diseases such as upper respiratory tract infections.
- Lower life expectancy and health adjusted life expectancy.
Health Concerns due to Alcohol
- Alcohol use disorder
- Weight gain, high body mass index and associated conditions including cardiovascular disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes.
- Cancer (including mouth, throat, stomach, bowel, liver and breast)
- Liver disease (including cirrhosis)
- Injuries
- Mental health issues and self-harm
- Prenetal/infant health outcomes (including premature birth, low birth weight and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
Burden of Disease due to Alcohol
- Responsible for all DALY associated with alcohol use disorders
- 24% of total burden due to traffic injuries was due to alcohol use
- Caused 28% of total DALY due to liver diseases
- Contributed 14% of DALY due to suicide and self-inflicted injuries.
- Increases YLL and YLD due to cardiovascular disease.
Health Status due to Alcohol
- Increased incidence and mortality from cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, liver diseases, injuries.
- Higher rates of morbidity due to mental health issues.
- Increased infant and under-5 mortality rates.
Alcohol misuse
Relates to the excessive consumption of alcohol and includes alcoholism and binge drinking.
Body Mass
Relates to the amount of body weight an individual is carrying. Generally, assessments about body mass are made using the body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference measurements.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
A statistical measure of body mass calculated by dividing weight (in kg) by height (in m^2). BMI does not take fat distribution into account.
E.g. For someone who is 182 cm tall and weights 88 kg:
BMI = 88/1.82^2
= 88/3.31
= 26.6