Existing user?
What is meant by health?
Tick one box in each row of the table to show whether each disease is communicable or non-communicable.
| Disease | Communicable | Non-communicable |
|---|---|---|
| Measles | ||
| Coronary heart disease | ||
| Lung cancer | ||
| Influenza |
Figure 1 shows cross-sections through two coronary arteries, A and B.
Which artery, A or B, is from a person with coronary heart disease?
Give one reason for your answer.
A person with coronary heart disease gets chest pain when they run.
Explain why.
Doctors may prescribe statins to a person with coronary heart disease.
Describe how statins help this person.
Mr Ahmed is 68 years old. Doctors have found that the valve between his left ventricle and his aorta does not open fully.
Explain why Mr Ahmed becomes tired and breathless when he walks upstairs.
A different patient has a heart valve that leaks.
Describe the effect of a leaking valve on the flow of blood through the heart.
Faulty heart valves can be replaced using a biological valve or a mechanical valve.
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of choosing a mechanical valve rather than a biological valve.
Mrs Kaur has heart failure. She is on the waiting list for a heart transplant. While she waits, surgeons fit her with an artificial heart.
Give one reason why a patient may be given an artificial heart.
Give two advantages of an artificial heart compared with a donor heart transplant.
Give three disadvantages of using an artificial heart.
Different types of disease may interact.
Explain why a person with a defect in their immune system suffers from infectious diseases more often than other people.
Some children develop asthma after a severe chest infection.
Suggest how an infection can lead to an allergy such as asthma.
Suggest why a person with severe arthritis may later be diagnosed with depression.
Scientists followed 5000 men aged 40–60 for 20 years. They recorded how many of the men developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung disease.
Table 1
| Smoking group | Number of men in group | Number of men who developed COPD |
|---|---|---|
| Never smoked | 2000 | 30 |
| Ex-smoker | 1500 | 90 |
| Current smoker | 1500 | 285 |
Calculate the percentage of the current smokers who developed COPD.
Percentage = .......... %
Use Table 1 to give two conclusions about smoking and COPD.
Use data in your answer.
Explain the effect of a woman smoking during pregnancy on her unborn baby.
A scientist wanted to find out whether living close to a busy road is a risk factor for asthma in children.
She asked the parents of 30 children at one primary school two questions:
She found that children living closer to a busy road were more likely to have asthma.
What is meant by a risk factor?
Give two reasons why the scientist's investigation may not give valid results.
A newspaper reported that this investigation shows traffic pollution causes asthma.
Explain why the newspaper report is not justified.
Cancer is the result of changes in cells that lead to uncontrolled growth and division.
Describe two differences between a benign tumour and a malignant tumour.
A woman is diagnosed with a malignant tumour in her breast. Two years later she is found to have a tumour in her liver.
Explain how the tumour in her liver was formed.
Ionising radiation is a carcinogen.
Explain how exposure to ionising radiation increases a person's risk of developing cancer.
Statins are drugs used to treat coronary heart disease.
In a clinical trial, 20 000 adults with high blood cholesterol were divided into two groups. One group took a statin every day for 5 years. The other group took a placebo (a tablet containing no drug) every day for 5 years.
Table 1
| Group | Number of people | Mean blood cholesterol at start in mg per 100 cm³ | Mean blood cholesterol after 5 years in mg per 100 cm³ | Number of people who had a heart attack in the 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statin | 10 000 | 232 | 175 | 420 |
| Placebo | 10 000 | 230 | 228 | 610 |
Calculate the percentage decrease in mean blood cholesterol in the statin group over the 5 years.
Give your answer to 3 significant figures.
Percentage decrease = .......... %
Explain why the scientists gave the second group a placebo instead of no tablet at all.
A stent is a mechanical device used to treat coronary heart disease.
Evaluate the use of statins and stents in treating coronary heart disease.
Use information from Table 1 in your answer.
Obesity is a risk factor for several non-communicable diseases.
Table 1 shows information about obesity in one country.
Table 1
| Year | Percentage of adults classed as obese | Estimated annual cost of treating obesity-related disease in £ billions |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 21 | 3.1 |
| 2010 | 26 | 5.4 |
| 2020 | 28 | 6.9 |
Calculate the percentage increase in the annual cost of treating obesity-related disease between 2000 and 2020.
Give your answer to 3 significant figures.
Percentage increase = .......... %
The government of this country is worried about the rising level of obesity.
Discuss the human and financial costs of obesity to the individual and to the nation, and suggest what the government could do to reduce the level of obesity.
Use information from Table 1 in your answer.