Health

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1. 
   sullymonster Teacher
   Community / Jr. College

   I can't speak to your personal medical history or susceptibility, but non-communicable diseases are non-infectious diseases.  This means that you can't "catch" the disease from someone like you would catch a cold.  Instead, these are diseases that result from two sources - genetic or lifestyle.  Often, it is a combination of the two.

   One example would be diabetes.  Being susceptible to diabetes is somewhat based on the medical history of your family.  If your father has it, you are more likely to get it.   However, genetic causes do not guarantee that this disease will be acquired.  A person who eats a diet high in glucose, is obese, etc., is more likely to get this disease, with or without the genetic disposition.

   Similar examples would also include high blood pressure, cancer, mental health problems.  In the definition of "lifestyle" factors, there can also be environmental factors.  A person can have no genetic susceptibility and can live a healthy life, but still be affected by factors in the environment.  For example, living in an area with poor air quality can make a person susceptible to asthma.

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/nwhrc-health-center-heart-disease-j...

   http://www.who.int/hpr/successful.prevention.1.shtml

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   Posted by sullymonster on Wednesday June 25, 2008 at 6:34 PM