4.2.2.5 Health issues

What is health?

A state of physical, mental and social wellbeing

What are the two categories of disease?

Communicable and non-communicable

What are communicable diseases?

Infectious pathogens passed on from one person to another

What are non-communicable diseases?

Diseases that aren’t passed in from person to person

How might diseases interact in the immune system?

If the immune system of an individual is poor, then they are more likely to become infected with a communicable disease as th body is less able to fight off any pathogens

How might infections by viruses interact with parts of the body?

The growth of cancers might be triggered, for example, liver cancer can result from infection by hepatitis virus

How might the infection by a pathogen interact with the body?

It might lead to an immune response which can trigger allergic reactions to things in the environment such as rashes or an increase in the severity of asthma attacks

What other factors may affect health?

Diet, stress, lifestyle

How does diet affect your health?

Eating too little or too much food, not enough nutrients or the wrong type of food prevents you from having a good, balanced diet. This can have a big effect on mental and physical health, causing issues such as type 2 diabetes or obesity

How does stress affect your health?

Physical and mental stress places strain on our bodies. This can lead to problems such as heart disease, cancers and mental illnesses

How does lifestyle affect your health?

Where you live, your financial status, your ethnic group, your access to medical care and the levels of hygiene in your area are some examples of factors which my affect your physical and mental health. They can lead to communicable diseases such as malaria, or non-communicable diseases like heart disease