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Non-communicable disease

Non-communicable disease is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Non-communicable disease rather than just read about it. In short: A non-communicable disease (NCD) is a disease that is not transmissible directly from one person to another. NCDs include Parkinson's disease, autoimmune diseases, strokes, heart diseases, cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and others.

Non-communicable disease — main illustration
Non-communicable disease — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Non-communicable disease belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Non-communicable disease to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Non-communicable disease from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A non-communicable disease (NCD) is a disease that is not transmissible directly from one person to another. NCDs include Parkinson's disease, autoimmune diseases, strokes, heart diseases, cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and others. NCDs may be chronic or acute. Most are non-infectious, although there are some non-communicable infectious diseases, such as parasitic diseases in which the parasite's life cycle does not include direct host-to-host transmission. The four main NCDs that are the leading causes of death globally are cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. NCDs account for seven out of the ten leading causes of death worldwide. Figures given for 2021 are at least 43 million deaths due to NCDs, equivalent to 75% of non-pandemic-related deaths globally. Of these, at least 19 million were due to cardiovascular diseases; 10 million to cancers; 4 million to chronic respiratory diseases; and over 2 million to diabetes, including kidney disease deaths caused by diabetes. Risk factors such as a person's background, lifestyle and environment increase the likelihood of certain NCDs. Every year, at least 5 million people die because of tobacco use and about 2.8 million die from being overweight. High cholesterol accounts for roughly 2.6 million deaths and 7.5 million die because of high blood pressure.

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 respiratory diseases (such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Diabetes mellitus type 2 Noise-induced hearing loss 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

Inherited diseases

Genetic disorders are caused by errors in genetic information that produce diseases in the affected people. The origin of these genetic errors can be:

Spontaneous errors or mutations to the genome: A change in chromosome numbers, such as Down syndrome. A defect in a gene caused by mutation, such as Cystic fibrosis. An increase in the amount of genetic information, such as Chimerism or Heterochromia. Cystic fibrosis is an example of an inherited disease that is caused by a mutation on a gene. The faulty gene impairs the normal movement of sodium chloride in and out of cells, which causes the mucus-secreting organs to produce abnormally thick mucus. The gene is recessive, meaning that a person must have two copies of the faulty gene for them to develop the disease. Cystic fibrosis affects the respiratory, digestive and reproductive systems, as well as the sweat glands. The mucus secreted is very thick and blocks passageways in the lungs and digestive tracts. This mucus causes problems with breathing and with the digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Inherited genetic errors from parents: Dominant genetic diseases, such as Huntingtons, require the inheritance of one erroneous gene to be expressed. Recessive genetic diseases require the inheritance of erroneous genes to be expressed and this is one reason they work together.

Global health

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Non-communicable disease illustration
Non-communicable disease: Mortality from NCDs
Mortality from NCDs
Non-communicable disease: Deaths from noncommunicable diseases per million persons in 2012 .mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}  688-2,635  2,636-2,923  2,924-3,224  3,225-3,476  3,477-4,034  4,035-4,919  4,920-5,772  5,773-7,729  7,730-8,879  8,880-13,667
Deaths from noncommunicable diseases per million persons in 2012 .mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}  688-2,635  2,636-2,923  2,924-3,224  3,225-3,476  3,477-4,034  4,035-4,919  4,920-5,772  5,773-7,729  7,730-8,879  8,880-13,667
Non-communicable disease: Total disease burden from non-communicable diseases, measured in DALYs (disability-adjusted life years) per year (data: IHME, Global Burden of Disease)[3]
Total disease burden from non-communicable diseases, measured in DALYs (disability-adjusted life years) per year (data: IHME, Global Burden of Disease)[3]
Non-communicable disease: Diets low in whole grains and fruits and high in sodium are the leading dietary risks contributing to global health hidden costs
Diets low in whole grains and fruits and high in sodium are the leading dietary risks contributing to global health hidden costs

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Non-communicable disease

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Non-communicable disease claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Non-communicable disease before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Non-communicable disease ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Non-communicable disease

In research
Non-communicable disease appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Non-communicable disease in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Non-communicable disease is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Diseases and disorders, Global health, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Non-communicable disease outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Non-communicable disease in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Non-communicable disease means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Non-communicable disease out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Non-communicable disease in simple terms?

A non-communicable disease (NCD) is a disease that is not transmissible directly from one person to another. NCDs include Parkinson's disease, autoimmune diseases, strokes, heart diseases, cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and o…

Why does Non-communicable disease matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Non-communicable disease?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Non-communicable disease.

Tags

  • Diseases and disorders
  • Global health

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