Health & Disease Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

How does the World Health Organization (WHO) define health?

A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

What is a communicable disease?

A disease caused by a pathogen that can be spread from one organism to another.
e.g. tuberculosis, cholera

What is a non-communicable disease?

A disease that cannot be passed from one organism to another.
e.g. type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease

True or false? A person who has no disease is automatically in good health.

False. WHO health also requires mental and social well-being, not just the absence of disease.

What effect does being infected with HIV have on a person's chance of catching other infections such as tuberculosis?

It increases it — HIV destroys white blood cells, so the immune system cannot defend against other pathogens.

What are the steps to calculate the percentage increase in the number of cases of a disease?
e.g. cases rise from 200 to 300

1. Subtract: $300 - 200 = 100$
2. Divide by the original: $100 \div 200 = 0.5$
3. Multiply by 100: $0.5 \times 100 = 50\%$ increase