Current patterns of ill health Essay

Describe the current patterns of ill health and how they are monitored In the UK patterns of ill health are identified and monitored through the use of statistics which may be viewed on the National Statistics website. Responsible for producing statistics to be put together by our UK National Statistics organisation to illustrate patterns of ill health in the UK are government statistical departments. Government statistical departments that are major contributors to identifying and monitoring patterns of ill health in the UK include: the Department of Health, the Health and Safety Executive and the NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care. Although statistics do provide a clear picture, they are not totally accurate for what they represent because there will always be information on illness that is not reported so statistics can only give us an idea of what ill health in England is really like. Here are some of the descriptions of the current patterns of ill health in the UK Lung cancer: Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that start off in one or both lungs but is usually in the cells that line the air passages. The abnormal cells do not develop into healthy lung tissue, they divide rapidly and form tumours. It is health concern as â€Å"Doctors in Britain are ‘missing opportunities’ to spot lung cancer at an early stage,† BBC News reports. A study found around a third of people with the condition die within 90 days of their initial diagnosis. http://www.nhs.uk and because there are usually no signs or symptoms in the early stages of lung cancer it is hard to diagnose so more people are dying from this cancer. Lung cancer is on the increase especially in women because of the sharp decrease in the incidence of male lung cancer over the past two decades reflects the decline in smoking prevalence among men. ‘Female smokers are also twice as likely to develop lung cancer as male smokers’ http://www.nhs.uk it is on the increase becuase Women aged between 25 and 34 are more stressed than anyone else in Britain, a new study has found. At that age, women are typicall y climbing the career ladder at work, caring for demanding young children at home and paying a mortgage meaning they are smoking more because of the stress.http://www.dailymail.co.uk Diabetes type 2: A person with type 2 diabetes has insulin resistance, meaning their pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body doesn’t react properly to insulin. Insulin is used by the body to manage glucose, or sugar, levels in the blood and to  convert glucose into energy. ‘Type 2 diabetes occurs mainly in people aged over 40. 5 million people have diabetes but is more common in older people The rapid rise in the number of adults developing type 2 diabetes is due to, increasing levels of obesity, a lack of exercise, increase in unhealthy diets and an ageing population. The first-line treatment is diet, weight control and physical activity.’ http://www.patient.co.uk/ it becomes a concern as that person is causing it themselves because of their diet , or lack of exercise ect and can only help themselves Cystic fibrosis- Cystic fibrosis affects over 7500 people in the UK and over 2 million people in the UK carry the gene that causes it. It affects the internal organs, especially the lungs and the digestive system, by clogging them with thick sticky mucus. This makes it hard to breathe and digest food. It is a progressive disorder and currently there is no cure, an average life expectancy is 31 years, although improvements in treatment mean a baby born today could expect to live for longer. Cystic fibrosis is increasingly being diagnosed through screening but some babies and older children (and even adults) are diagnosed following unexplained illness. Treatments available include eating a healthy diet, exercising, physiotherapy treatment and medicine treatment. Cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive disorder. This means that in order to develop cystic fibrosis you need to inherit two cystic fibrosis genes, one from your mother and one from your father, and this is why it is on the increase as people who have the gene are having children. Coronary heart disease – (CHD) is a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque (plak) builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle. When plaque builds up in the arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis. It’s responsible for around 74,000 deaths in the UK each year. About 1 in 5 men and 1 in 8 women die from CHD. CHD generally affects more men than women, but from the age of 50 the chances of developing CHD are similar for men and women. â€Å"That number of people get CHD looks likely to rise if we allow complacency and inactivity to ruin our lives.† Professor Sir Charles George blamed people’s increasingly unhealthy lifestyles to cause this. Std- sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infectious diseases that spread  from person to person through intimate contact. these diseases can cause serious harm such as getting HIV is a virus most commonly caught by having sex without a condom.The virus attacks the immune system, and weakens your ability to fight infections and disease.At the end of 2012, there were an estimated 98,400 people in the UK living with HIV. The majority were infected through sex (41,000 gay and bisexual men and 53,000 heterosexuals).Although there is no cure for HIV, treatments are now very effective, enabling people with HIV to live long and healthy lives.You will be encouraged to take regular exercise, eat a healthy diet, stop smoking. the reason why it is on the increase is because of sexual activity at a young age, having lots of sexual paretners are more at risk and having unprotected sex, many young adults are not using condoms meaning that diseases like chylamida are increasing and more sexua l diseases are being spread around as there are also not really any symptoms to suggest you have a std. liver disease. There are over 100 types of liver disease, which together affect at least 2 million people in the UK. the most common are alcohol-related liver disease, where the liver is damaged after years of alcohol misuse, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, usually seen in people who are overweight or obese and hepatitis, which is inflammation (swelling) of the liver caused by a viral infection or exposure to harmful substances such as alcohol. the deaths becuase of liver disease has increased by 40% in the last 12 years due to alcohol. www.thegurdian.com Regional study shows significant variations in mortality across country, and men twice as likely to be diagnosed as women, studies have shown that this is becuase young men are more likely to drink more on a night out also when they are stressed and angry they turn to alcohol. â€Å"men and women have different types of stress-related psychological disorders. Women have greater rates of depression and some types of anxiety disorders than men, while men have greater rates of alcohol-use disorders than women† breast cancer- Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts in the cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that can grow into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK. In 2011, just under 50,000 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Most  women who get it (8 out of 10) are over 50, but younger women, and in rare cases, men, can also get breast cancer. there are many factors as to why breast cancer is increasing some are, alcohol can cause breast cancer, and even drinking small amounts can increase the risk of this disease. After the menopause, women who are overweight or obese have a higher breast cancer risk than those who have a healthy weight. The Million Women Study also looked at body weight, and calculated that obesity accounts for 7 per cent of the UK’s breast cancer cases. women who work night shifts are also at a higher risk.