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Biology Topic 5 - health > non communicable disease > Flashcards

non communicable disease Flashcards

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1
Q

what is a risk factor?

A

it is linked to an increase in the likelihood of someone developing a disease during their lifetime
it is important to know that having a risk factor DOES NOT guarantee the development of a disease

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2
Q

what are examples of unavoidable risk factors?

A
  • age, gender
  • exposure to harsh chemicals in the environment
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3
Q

what are examples of lifestyle risk factors?

A
  • drinking alcohol
  • lack of exercise
  • smoking
  • obesity
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4
Q

non communicable diseases are often caused by …………………. risk factors, which interact with each other, not just one itself

A

several

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5
Q

what diseases is smoking a risk factor for?

A
  • cardiovascular disease (affecting the heart or blood vessels, like a heart attack or stroke)
  • cancers, especially lung cancer
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6
Q

how can smoking increase the risk of CVD? (tip - nicotine)

A
  • the chemicals in the cigarette contain nicotine
  • nicotine increases the heart rate of a person, which also increases their b.p.
  • this means that artery walls are more likely to be damaged, and this can also contribute to the development of fatty deposits in the arteries, restricting blood flow
  • if this happens (or a blood clot), very little oxygenated blood can travel to heart/brain cells increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke
  • nicotine is also addictive
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7
Q

how can smoking increase the risk of CVD? (tip - carbon monoxide)

A
  • carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas which as no smell or colour, making it hard to detect (‘silent killer’)
  • it binds to the haemoglobin in red blood cells, meaning less oxygen can be carried to body cells for respiration
  • if enough oxygen isn’t being carried to cells to meet respiration demands, it can also lead to cell death
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8
Q

how can smoking increase the likelihood of developing lung cancer?

A

cigarette smoke contains chemicals called carcinogens, which cause mutations in cells leading to uncontrollable cell division

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9
Q

how can smoking increase the likelihood of developing COPD?

A

COPD includes diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis
- smoking damages the bronchioles and kill many of the alveoli in the lungs,
the airways become inflamed and
mucus builds up
- the patient becomes breathless, and finds it more and more difficult to obtain the oxygen required for
respiration

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10
Q

what diseases is drinking alcohol a risk factor for?

A
  • liver cirrhosis
  • chronic hepatitis
  • fatty liver disease
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11
Q

how does alcohol affect brain function?

A

short term: slurred speech, slows reaction time, changes in sleep, difficulty walking, nausea
long term: brain shrinkage, memory problems, psychiatric problems

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12
Q

what are the human and financial costs of alcoholism?

A

increased absences from work, more patients requiring long term care, increased risk of accidents, more risk of mental decline
this all increases treatment costs for the NHS

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13
Q

how can drinking too much alcohol is a major risk factor for liver diseases?

A

enzymes in the liver break down alcohol, but the toxic breakdown products can damage liver cells, causing cirrhosis
it can also cause lipids to build up in the liver; this is called fatty liver disease

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14
Q

what diseases is obesity a risk factor for?

A
  • type 2 diabetes
  • CVD
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15
Q

how does obesity increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease?

A
  • leads to a higher blood pressure which can damage artery walls
  • it also increases the fatty deposits in the arteries, which can restrict blood flow and cause heart attacks/strokes
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16
Q

how does obesity increase the risk of type 2 diabetes?

A
  • this is because body fat also affects the body’s ability to use insulin, which breaks down glucose
  • body cells can lose sensitivity to insulin, meaning more glucose can build up easily in the blood, which can damage the pancreas etc
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17
Q

how can type 2 diabetics improve their quality of life?

A
  • having a balanced healthy diet with less saturated fats
  • exercising regularly to regulate their blood glucose levels
18
Q

what is cancer?

A

the uncontrollable division of cells, which can form a tumour

19
Q

malignant tumours

A

cancerous tumours which can break apart, spread to other parts of the body in a process called metastasis

20
Q

benign tumours

A

not cancerous, do not spread round to the rest of the body

21
Q

how can doctors detect cancers?

A

screening, urine sample, monoclonal antibodies

22
Q

causes of cancer

A
  • excessive smoking / drinking
  • harsh chemicals in the air
  • Sun’s UV rays
23
Q

chemotherapy

A

using chemicals to kill cancerous cells

24
Q

radiotherapy

A

using x rays to kill cancerous cells

25
Q

palliative

A

this helps a person who has fatal cancer to die as comfortably as possible

26
Q

what does BMI stand for?

A

body mass index

27
Q

how can we calculate BMI?

A

mass / (height) squared

28
Q

what value indicates obesity?

A

> 30 indicates moderately obese, and above 40 is severely obese

29
Q

why is BMI not always a reliable measure of obesity?

A

some people, such as athletes, have more muscle mass than fat, so they can end up having a higher BMI value even though they aren’t overweight

30
Q

what is another way to measure fat distribution?

A

waist to hip ratio

31
Q

how do we calculate the waist to hip ratio?

A

waist circumference/hip circumference

32
Q

what ratio for females and males indicated abdominal obesity?

A

> 1 in males
0.85 in females

33
Q

what does CVD stand for?

A

cardiovascular disease, refers to diseases of the heart or blood vessels

34
Q

when do arteries narrow?

A

when there are build ups of fatty deposits in areas where the artery wall has been damaged (for example, it can be damaged because of a high blood pressure)

35
Q

how can we treat CVD?

A
  • lifestyle changes
  • medication
  • surgery
  • donor heart
36
Q

lifestyle changes

A
  • eating a healthy, balanced diet, with less saturated fats
  • exercising more, lose weight if necessary
  • stop smoking
37
Q

statins

A
  • statins reduce the levels of cholesterol in the blood, so there is a smaller likelihood of fatty deposits building up in arteries, which restricts blood flow
  • statins have to be taken regularly to see a positive effect
  • statins have side effects such as headaches, muscle aches, damage to the liver etc
38
Q

antihypertensives

A
  • reduce blood pressure, preventing damage to the blood vessels and reducing the risk of fatty deposits forming
39
Q

anticoagulants

A
  • reduce the likelihood of blood clots forming e.g. Warfarin
  • however, patients taking these drugs are more likely to suffer serious bleeding if they’re injured, which can result in significant blood loss
40
Q

stents

A
  • wire, mesh tubes that can be inserted inside arteries to keep them open
  • means more blood reaches cells and heart muscles
  • lowers the risk of a heart attack, and the recovery time is pretty quick
  • risk of complications during the operation, and arteries can narrow again and stents irritate the artery and can cause scar tissue to grow
  • blood clots can develop near stents - so patients need to take anticoagulants
41
Q

coronary bypass surgery

A
  • piece of a healthy vessel is taken from elsewhere in the body and used to bypass a blocked section of the coronary arteries
  • longer, more invasive than stent surgery so a longer recovery time is required
42
Q

donor hearts

A
  • necessary in cases where risk of heart attack is severe
  • life saving operation which increases the life span of a patient and their quality of life
  • immunosuppressant drugs must be taken to ensure the immune system doesn’t reject the donor heart but this makes patients more vulnerable to infection

Biology Topic 5 - health (3 decks)

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