Lecture 1 Flashcards
What is disease?
Any disturbance of the structure or function of the body
How do we know we are sick?
Subjective manifestations of disease (symptoms related to lesions)
Secondary Prevention
Intervention after the disease has begun, but before it’s symptomatic
Example of Secondary Prevention
Screening measures (screening pregnant women for substance use)
Tertiary Prevention
Intervention after a disease or injury is established
Example of Tertiary Prevention
Treating an addiction, Treating Cancer
Syndemic Factors
2 or more concurrent factors exacerbate prognosis or burden of a disease
Syndemic Factors
2 or more concurrent factors exacerbate (worsen) the prognosis or burden of a disease
Examples of Syndemic Factors
Social, mental, environmental or economic factors (can promote or worsen a disease)
Epigenetics
How behaviours and environmental factors can change how a gene is expressed
What can amplify or repress gene expression to increase the risk or worsen disease?
Diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, polluntants, mental stressors, depression, shift work, etc.
Symptoms and Signs
A physical or mental indicator of an illness or disease
Pathogenesis
The process of disease development
Etiology
The investigation for a cause of disease
Diagnosis
Determining the nature and cause of illness through the patient’s medical history, physical examination, differential diagnosis
Differential Diagnosis
Finding the difference between 2 or more conditions which share similar signs or symptoms
Differential Diagnosis
Finding the difference between 2 or more conditions which share similar signs or symptoms (could be done using lab tests or other diagnostic procedures)
Treatment types
Specific Treatment and Symptomatic Treatment
Specific Treatment
Treatment directed at the underlying cause of the disease (Potentially take away the illness)
Symptomatic Treatment
Alleviates symptoms but doesn’t influence the course of the disease (Improves patient’s quality of life but doesn’t take away the illness)
Elements of the history of current illness
Severity, time of onset, and characteristics of patient’s symptoms (aids with diagnosis + differential diagnosis)
Medical history
Details of the patients general health and previous illnesses to help provide a diagnosis on the current problem
Family health history
Health of patient’s parents and family members; diseases that run in the patient’s family
Social History
Patient’s occupation, habits, alcohol and tobacco consumption, general health, current problems (All these factors can have an effect on the patient’s health)
Review of symptoms
Other symptoms that are not found in the history of current illness suggesting other parts of the body are affected by disease
Physical examination
Examination of patient’s body with the emphasis on parts that are affected by illness, pain, etc.
Considerations for general diagnostic tests
Cost, Invasive vs. noninvasive, asking the appropriate questions, False-positive/false-negative ratio for test
Importance of using screening tests for detection of disease
Provides the ability to detect early asymptomatic diseases to start treatment early and minimize the likely-hood of late-stage organ damage
Importance of screening for genetic diseases
Screen carriers of genetic disease that are transmitted to the child as dominant or recessive trait. This provides the ability for the patient to make decisions regarding childbearing and pregnancy management
Traits for a suitable screening test
A relatively inexpensive, noninvasive test that does not yield a high number of false-positive or false-negative results
