What does lung disease incidence measure?
New cases in a defined population over a stated period.
AQA GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy (8464) — Biology — Foundation · 4.2.2.6
Revise AQA GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy (8464) — Biology — Foundation specification point 4.2.2.6, The effect of lifestyle on some non-communicable diseases, with free active-recall flashcards. Flip through the set or review every question and answer below.
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What does lung disease incidence measure?
New cases in a defined population over a stated period.
What can lung disease incidence data be used to examine?
Associations between lung disease and risk factors, such as smoking and pollution.
What three aspects must be considered when comparing lung disease incidence data?
The populations, time periods, and exposure measures used.
What does a correlation between two variables mean, and what does it not establish?
The variables vary together, but this alone does not establish that one causes the other.
How can other factors confound an association between an exposure and lung disease incidence?
They may influence both the exposure and disease incidence.
What should be considered when interpreting a risk factor–disease association causally?
Study design, possible confounding, and the strength and consistency of evidence.
How can lifestyle choices affect the risk of coronary artery blockage?
Food and physical activity choices can lower the chance of a blockage developing.
How can a healthy diet help reduce coronary heart disease risk?
By reducing excessive fat intake and helping maintain a healthy body mass, it can help prevent conditions that strain the heart and blood vessels.
How can regular exercise help reduce coronary heart disease risk?
It helps the circulatory system work efficiently, improves fitness and reduces problems associated with inactivity.
What is a disease risk factor?
Something associated with an increased chance or rate of a disease.
What kinds of things can be disease risk factors?
Lifestyle aspects, such as diet or smoking, and substances present in the body or environment.
Does an association between a risk factor and a disease establish causation?
No. Some risk factors have demonstrated causal mechanisms; others are associated with disease without a proven cause-and-effect mechanism.
How can several factors contribute to a disease?
They can interact to cause disease, rather than the disease having a single cause.
How can lifestyle and environmental risks contribute to differences in disease incidence between populations?
Populations can differ in their exposure to these risks.
Does exposure to a risk factor mean a person will develop the disease?
No. A risk factor increases the probability of disease but does not make it certain.
How do chemicals in tobacco smoke affect arteries?
They damage the vessel lining, encouraging fatty deposits to build up and narrow the arteries.
How can smoking-related narrowing of arteries increase heart attack risk?
It can reduce blood flow to the heart.
How does nicotine strain the cardiovascular system?
It increases heart rate and blood pressure.
How does carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke affect oxygen delivery to tissues?
It reduces the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity, so less oxygen reaches tissues.
How does obesity affect the risk of Type 2 diabetes?
It increases the risk, but does not make Type 2 diabetes inevitable; other factors also contribute.
How can excess body fat affect cells' response to insulin?
Cells become less sensitive to insulin and respond less effectively to its signal to take up glucose.
What can happen to blood glucose when the body cannot produce enough insulin to compensate for reduced insulin sensitivity?
Blood glucose concentration can remain too high.
Which organ processes alcohol?
The liver.
What effect can excessive alcohol consumption have on liver cells?
It can damage them.
What can repeated damage to liver cells cause?
Inflammation and scarring.
What is cirrhosis?
Extensive scarring of the liver.
How does severe liver damage affect the liver’s functions?
The liver becomes less able to perform its normal functions, including processing substances in the blood.
Which three abilities can alcohol impair?
Judgement, coordination and reaction time.
Why can alcohol impair brain and nervous system function during intoxication?
It disrupts normal communication in the nervous system.
How can prolonged excessive alcohol consumption affect the brain?
It can damage the brain and affect functions such as memory.
How does smoking increase the risk of airway infections?
It damages cilia, allowing mucus to accumulate in the airways.
How does smoking reduce the surface area for gas exchange in emphysema?
It damages the alveolar walls.
How can carcinogens in tobacco smoke lead to lung cancer?
They damage lung-cell DNA; the resulting changes may cause uncontrolled cell division.
How can substances from tobacco smoke and alcohol reach a developing baby during pregnancy?
They pass from the pregnant person's blood through the placenta.
How does carbon monoxide from tobacco smoke affect a developing baby?
It reduces oxygen delivery.
How can nicotine affect the placenta during pregnancy?
It can reduce blood flow to the placenta.
What three risks to the baby are increased by smoking during pregnancy?
How can alcohol exposure affect fetal development?
It can disrupt development, including development of the brain.
What are fetal alcohol spectrum disorders?
Disorders describing lasting effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on growth, learning and behaviour.
What is a carcinogen?
An agent that increases the risk of cancer; exposure does not guarantee that cancer will develop.
How can some carcinogens, such as ionising radiation, cause mutations?
They can damage DNA, causing mutations.
How can mutations affecting the control of cell division lead to cancer?
Cells may divide uncontrollably and form a cancer.
Give one source of carcinogenic substances and one physical carcinogen.
What is sampling in a population study?
Using a subset of a population to investigate patterns that may apply to the wider population.
Why should a sample be large enough in a risk-factor study?
To reduce the effect of chance variation.
What should sample selection aim to achieve in a risk-factor study?
The sample should represent the population being studied.
How does random selection affect selection bias and representativeness?
It can reduce selection bias, but does not guarantee a representative sample.
How can systematic differences between a sample and the wider population affect a risk-factor study?
They can make estimates of exposure or disease frequency misleading.
What does a scatter diagram plot?
Paired values of two variables, with one variable on each axis.
What point patterns indicate positive, negative, and little or no correlation on a scatter diagram?
How does a scatter diagram indicate the strength of an association?
The closer the points are to a trend, the stronger the association appears.
What is an outlier on a scatter diagram?
An unusual point compared with the others.
What can a scatter diagram show about a risk factor and disease, and what can it not establish from the pattern alone?
It can show an association, but the pattern alone does not establish causation.