The Health Blog

Diabetes mellitus type 2 is one of the most common diseases especially affecting middle-aged people and the elderly. Most patients die because of its complications. Diabetes mellitus is a multi-systemic disorders which may affect your kidneys, heart, and other organs of your body. Thus, the need to determine the risk of developing the diseases is of utmost importance. The etiology is linked to genetics with the influence of numerous environmental factors.

With the expanded research on its genetics, scientists have finally mapped out the most important genes that put people at risk of type 2 diabetes, offering hope that a test could be delivered.

Tuberculosis, otherwise known as “TB”, is said to be one of the oldest diseases known to affect humans. The disease is more prevalent in developing countries (most areas in Asia and Africa). Here are some of the important things you need to know about tuberculosis:

1. The diseases is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a species of bacteria which is highly pathogenic to humans.

2. M. tuberculosis is most commonly transmitted from a patient with infectious pulmonary tuberculosis to other persons by droplet nuclei, which are aerosolized by coughing, sneezing or speaking. The tiny droplets dry rapidly; the smallest (<5 to 10 μm in diameter) may remain suspended in the air for several hours and may gain direct access to the terminal air passages when inhaled.

Facts and Statistics:

Current statistics say that about 60% of Filipino men smoke and more than half of Filipino households are not smoke-free. As many as 40% of Filipino adolescent boys smoke and mostly began in their teens. Every year, there are about 20,000 smoking-related deaths in the country. Many vendors of cigarettes are children. Sadly, there are no laws prohibiting minors from buying or selling cigarettes.

Effects of Smoking:

Cardiovascular Diseases: Recent statistical studies say that smoking is the most prevalent risk factor of cardiovascular diseases including heart attack and stroke among Filipinos.

Cancer: Tobacco contains nicotine, carcinogens, and other toxins capable of causing gum disease and oral cancer. It has also been shown that incidences of cancers of the lung, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, kidney and urinary bladder are increased in smokers.

Overview:

Breast cancer is a malignant proliferation of epithelial cells linking the ducts or lobules of the breast. It is the most common cause of cancer in women, excluding skin cancer. It is a hormone-dependent disease so that women without functiong ovaries who never receive estrogen replacement do not develop breast cancer.

Epidemiology:

Risk Factors:

1. Age - The risk of getting breast cancer increases with age but incidence begins to decline beginning at the age of menopause. The three dates in a woman’s life that have a major impact on breast cancer are age at menarche, age at first full-term pregnancy and age at menopause. Women who experience menarche at age 16 have only 50-60% of the breast cancer risk of a woman having menarche (first menstruation) at age of 12; the lower risk persists throughout life. Similarly, menopause occuring 10 years before the median age of menopause (52 years), whether natural or surgically induced, reduces risk of breast cancer by about 35%. Women who have a first full-term pregnancy by age 18 have a reduced (30-40%) risk of breast cancer compared with nulliparous (or women who never experienced pregnancy) women.