Lifestyle & Non-Communicable Disease (Edexcel GCSE Biology)

Risk Factors

• Risk factors can increase the chance of developing many non-communicable diseases

• Non-communicable diseases may include:

  • Cardiovascular diseases

  • Cancer

  • Lung and liver diseases

  • Obesity and malnutrition

• Associated risk factors are things such as:

  • Lifestyle choices e.g. alcohol, diet, drugs and exercise

  • Environmental exposure e.g. pollution, noise and asbestos

  • Unavoidable factors e.g. age, gender and genetics

• These risk factors are usually not causative despite the fact that many will show correlations with the rate of infection, this is because interactions between many different factors all contribute towards the overall likelihood that someone will develop a disease

  • For example; someone who smokes regularly isn’t guaranteed to develop lung cancer but their risk compared to someone who doesn’t smoke is much, much higher

• A causal mechanism has been proven for some risk factors, but not in others

Risk Factors & Causal Mechanisms Table

• Some risk factors may be associated with multiple diseases e.g. smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer

• Some diseases are associated with multiple risk factors e.g. smoking, drinking too much alcohol, poor diet and lack of exercise are all risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD)

Obesity and malnutrition

• The key risk factors for both obesity and malnutrition are exercise and diet

  • Eating more calories than we burn leads to weight gain

  • Significant weight gain can lead to obesity

  • Obesity increases the risk of other non-communicable diseases such as

    • Type 2 diabetes

    • Cardiovascular disease

  • Obesity is a national problem and has lead to the introduction of a sugar tax to try and tackle the issue

  • Eating fewer calories than we burn, or having an unbalanced diet can lead to malnutrition

  • Malnutrition can lead to many different outcomes depending on the nutrient that is lacking, for example

    • Brittle bones may result if calcium levels are low

    • Anaemia may result from low iron levels

  • Malnutrition is often associated with developing countries as many individuals do not have access to the necessary nutrients

  • Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simplistic measurement which uses data about the weight and height of an individual to determine their health status

Body mass index can be used to assess the weight of an individual

Liver disease

• Liver disease can result from an excessively high intake of alcohol for a prolonged period of time

• Alcoholics, in particular, are prone to liver failure and sometimes cancer as a result of the high alcohol consumption

• Alcoholism also makes individuals at risk of developing other diseases due to vitamin deficiencies which impact their general health

• There is a recommended daily intake level for alcohol to try and guide people towards a sensible level of alcohol consumption

• Advertisements for alcohol in the UK are all delivered alongside the message to "drink responsibly" to try and encourage awareness around the associated health risks

Lung Disease

• Smoking is a key risk factor for lung disease

• Diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), pneumonia and lung cancer all develop more commonly in patients who smoke

• This is because there are many disease-causing chemicals present in smoke

  • Tar - causes lung cancer

  • Nicotine - causes atherosclerosis and high blood pressure

• In the UK, there are rules and restrictions around the sale of nicotine based products including high tax, generic packaging with pictures to deter people and bans on advertising

  • These methods are all aimed at reducing smoking nationally

Cardiovascular disease

• There are many risk factors associated with CVD including

  • Smoking

  • Poor diet

  • Lack of exercise

  • High alcohol consumption

• Chemicals in smoke damage the arteries causing atherosclerosis

• The issue is amplified by a diet that is high in saturated fats and cholesterol which causes the plaques in atherosclerosis to form

• A consequence of these two effects is that the individual will suffer from high blood pressure and an increased chance of blood clots forming which may lead to a heart attack or a stroke

Other wider impacts of risk factors

• Risk factors not only affect an individual's health but also have an impact on the wider community due to the associated health costs

  • Society

    • Particular local areas may have a high incidence of certain cardiovascular diseases due to lifestyle norms e.g. poor diet or high alcohol intake

    • This can put a strain on the local medical resources

  • The economy

    • There is a huge cost associated with treating and preventing many non-communicable diseases

    • The NHS in the UK provides the resources for treatment

    • Additionally, patients suffering from such diseases may also be unable to work and therefore unable to contribute to the economy of a country

  • International relations

    • The incidence of non-communicable diseases in a country could be significant enough to reduce the development of that country e.g. a developing country where rates of malnutrition are particularly high will have a reduced workforce

• Considering these categories allows us to establish the impact of risk factors on a national and international level