PROJECT IN HEALTH 7

NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES and ITS PREVENTION and CONTROL

Noncommunicable - or chronic - diseases are diseases of long duration and
generally slow progression. The four main types of noncommunicable
diseases are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancer,
chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease
and asthma) and diabetes.

Noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, are by far the leading cause of death in

the world, representing 63% of all annual deaths. Noncommunicable diseases
(NCDs) kill more than 36 million people each year. Some 80% of all NCD
deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Noncommunicable diseases are not passed from person to person. They are
typically of a long duration and progress slowly. The most common NCDs
include cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attacks and stroke), cancers,
chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
and asthma), and diabetes. NCDs share several common, modifiable risk
factors – tobacco use, harmful alcohol use, physical inactivity, and unhealthy
diet. Mitigating the effects of these common risk factors is critical to
combatting NCDs worldwide.

EXAMPLES OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE (NCDs)

 Hypertension
 Coronary Heart Disease
 Diabetes
 Strokes
 Maligracies
 Obesity
 Blindness
 Psychiatric Disorders
 Others
 A combination of genetic, physiological, lifestyle, and environmental factors
can cause these diseases. Some risk factors include:

 unhealthy diets
 lack of physical activity
 smoking and secondhand smoke
 excessive use of alcohol
Risk factors
Risk factors such as a person's background; lifestyle and environment are
known to increase the likelihood of certain non-communicable diseases. They
include age, gender, genetics, exposure to air pollution, and behaviors such
as smoking, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity which can lead
to hypertension and obesity, in turn leading to increased risk of many NCDs.
Most NCDs are considered preventable because they are caused by modifiable
risk factors.
The WHO's World Health Report 2002 identified five important risk factors for
non-communicable disease in the top ten leading risks to health. These are
raised blood pressure, raised cholesterol, tobacco use, alcohol consumption,
and being overweight. The other factors associated with higher risk of NCDs
include a person's economic and social conditions, also known as the "[social
determinants of health]."
It has been estimated that if the primary risk factors were eliminated, 80% of
the cases of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes and 40% of cancers
could be prevented. Interventions targeting the main risk factors could have a
significant impact on reducing the burden of disease worldwide. Efforts
focused on better diet and increased physical activity have been shown to
control the prevalence of NCDs .
Environmental diseases
NCDs include many environmental diseases covering a broad category of
avoidable and unavoidable human health conditions caused by external
factors, such as sunlight, nutrition, pollution, and lifestyle choices. The diseases
of affluence are non-infectious diseases with environmental causes. Examples
include:

 Many types of cardiovascular disease (CVD)

 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) caused by smoking tobacco
 Diabetes mellitus type 2
 Lower back pain caused by too little exercise
 Malnutrition caused by too little food, or eating the wrong kinds of food
(e.g. scurvy from lack of Vitamin C)
 Skin cancer caused by radiation from the sun
 Obesity

Submitted By : Katherine Mercado