Degenerative diseases like heart disease, cancer, and strokes cause more deaths in developed countries compared to developing countries, where infectious diseases are a larger problem. Degenerative diseases are linked to lifestyle and longevity, while infectious diseases spread more easily in developing countries due to poverty, poor diet, and limited healthcare. The document considers whether increased longevity from better medical care in developed countries paradoxically leads to more degenerative and infectious diseases over time.

1. Chapter 3
Health and Diseases
Part 3:
Types of diseases

2. Which diseases causes more deaths in
DCs and LDCs?
• Degenerative diseases
• Infectious diseases
• Generally, Degenerative diseases
cause higher proportion of deaths in
DCs
• Infectious diseases cause higher
proportion of deaths in LDCs

7. Degenerative diseases
• Affects tissues or organs
• Caused by lifestyle choices
• Not contagious
• Allowed to set in partially due to enhanced life
expectancy
– Coronary heart disease
– Cancer
– Stroke
– Alzheimer’s disease & dementias
– Lower respiratory infection

8. Infectious diseases
• Caused by microorganisms
–Bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi
• Common among poverty, poor diet &
limited health care infrastructure.
• Highly common in LDCs.
• Spread by vectors, from person to person
–Aids/HIV, Dengue, etc

9. Consider this
• Longevity leads to larger lead time
for virus, bacteria and other
diseases breaking down the human
body.
• Is better medical care that leads to
longevity then the potential cause
for the advent of degenerative and
infectious disease?

10. Thank
you