Global+patterns+of+disease

__Definitions__
 * 1) **Prevalence** of a disease is the number of cases per 10,000 population.
 * 2) **Incidence** of a disease is the total number of cases per year.
 * 3) **Disease** is a word that describes a state of ill health, or lack of good health, over a temporary period.
 * 4) **Chronic disease.** A disease is said to be chronic when it cannot be cured. They stay with a person for the rest of their lives and can worsen over time without treatment.
 * 5) An **acute disease** is a disease with a sudden onset. Symptoms present themselves and develop quickly. E.g. heart attack.
 * 6) **Communicable diseases/infectious diseases** (diseases of poverty) are diseases that can be passed on from one person to another through close human contact or by vectors (transmitters such as insects). They are passed through several methods including overcrowded places, unsanitary places associated with poverty. E.g. malaria, HIV and common cold.
 * 7) **Medical** condition is a phrase often used to describe non-communicable diseases.
 * 8) **Non-communicable**/chronic diseases are diseases that can’t be passed from one person to another. They are **degenerative diseases** associated with old age, but have lately been found to affect young people. E.g. Cancer, stroke, respiratory diseases, heart disease, etc. There are factors other than aging which can induce these. E.g. smoking, high energy diet, low physical activity, and high alcohol consumption. Others include exposure to air pollution or radiation, which can cause respiratory diseases and cancer respectively.
 * Distribution**: how something is spread out.
 * Epidemiological transition** refers to changes in the types of diseases experienced by populations as they become wealthier over time. It basically refers to the process whereby developing countries adopt western lifestyles and eating habits which makes them vulnerable to diseases of affluence.

__How diseases can be classified__

 * **Disease** || **Type** || **Mode of transmission** || **Duration** ||
 * Malaria || Infectious and parasitic || Female Anopheles mosquito || Rapid onsets, long term ||
 * Cholera || Infectious, bacterial || Contaminated water and food || Sudden onset, deadly ||
 * Heart disease || Non-communicable, degenerative || Aging, smoking, drinking alcohol, sedentary lifestyle || Gradual onset ||
 * Explain the global distribution of diseases of poverty. [6 marks]**

Diseases of poverty include many infectious and parasitic diseases, as well as diseases related to vitamin and/or calorie deficiencies. The global distribution is related to economic and social development, though pockets of diseases of poverty can also exist in developed nations. Factors include:
 * lack of access to adequate medical care because of costs and/or poor availability;
 * poor quality of water supply;
 * high levels of environmental pollution;
 * poor levels of sanitation.

At least two distinct factors must be treated in detail for the award of the full [6 marks]. Alternatively, a greater number of factors can be explained in less detail for the full marks. Answers that simply describe the distribution could be limited to a maximum of [3 marks].


 * Using examples of diseases, distinguish between diseases of affluence and diseases of poverty. [6 marks]**

Diseases of affluence are those diseases such as degenerative diseases that are associated with different lifestyles and/or increased overall life expectancy [1 mark] typical of wealthy societies. They include coronary heart disease, cancer, asthma, type 2 diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, obesity, hypertension, some allergies.

Diseases of poverty tend to be infectious diseases resulting in lower life expectancy, and associated with poor public health and access to medical services [1 mark], or malnutrition and poor female education (alternative route to this [1 mark]). They include malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, measles, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases).