Environmental/Occupational Health

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  • Created by: evepoag
  • Created on: 09-10-22 18:23
What is aetiology?
the cause of a disease
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Why is it important to understand disease risk factors?
Risk factors are modifiable
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When cell integrity is threatened, what does it do?
It adapts to try and function despite the threat
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What are the 3 causes of cell adaption?
1. cell injury
2. cell aging
3. cell death
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What are the 5 types of cell injury?
Toxins
Infection
Physical
Injury
Deficit
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How does cell injury develop?
If adaptive capabilities are exceeded
and
if external stress is harmful
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Cell injury is reversible.
What happens if the injurious stimulus persists or is too severe?
Cell suffers irreversible injury, causing cell death
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A normal cell has homeostasis. If stress is increased, the cell will try to adapt. What happens if the cell has an inability to adapt?
Cell death occurs
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Injured cells cause inflammation.
What is this known as?
the body's 1st line of defence
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What are the 5 cardinal signs of inflammation?
1. Heat
2. Redness
3. Swelling
4. Pain
5. Loss of function
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Why does heat and redness occur in inflammation?
Histamine causes vasodilation and there is an increase blood flow to the damaged tissue
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Why does swelling occur in inflammation?
Vascular leakage occurs, allowing fluid from capillaries to enter tissue spaces
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Why does pain occur in inflammation?
Swelling and build-up of tissue presses against nerve endings.
The nociceptors are stimulated and send pain signals to the brain
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Why does loss of function occur in inflammation?
pain inhibits mobility
or
severe swelling prevents movement in the area
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What is an intrinsic disease factor?
An individual's genetic, physiological and pathological characteristics
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What are the 2 types of intrinsic factors?
give examples
1. Genetic intrinsic factors -
eg: sex, race, ethnicity
2. Physiological/Pathological factors -eg: age, co-morbidities, organ function
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What is an extrinsic disease factor?
give examples
factors that wield their influence from the outside
eg: environment, culture, lifestyle
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What is a trigger?
something that sets off a disease in someone who is genetically predisposed to the disease
or
something that causes a symptom in someone with the disease
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What is a risk factor?
something that increases someone's chances of developing a disease
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What are 4 types of environmental hazards?
give examples
1. Physical - eg: earthquake
2. Chemical - eg: pollution
3. Biological - eg: bacterial infections
4. Cultural/social - eg: socioeconomic status
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What does tobacco cause?
Atherosclerosis or arteriosclerosis
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What is atherosclerosis/arteriosclerosis?
disease of the arteries when fatty plaques develop on inner walls which eventually obstructs blood flow
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Give 2 examples of risk factors for arteriosclerosis
High cholesterol
Diabetes
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What does nicotine stimulate the release of?
1. catecholamines
2. free fatty acids
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What does nicotine promote, in relation to arteriosclerosis?
promotes functional and structural changes in vascular walls (the initial stage of arteriosclerosis)
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What changes in vascular wall function and structure does nicotine cause?
1. cell injury
2. inflammatory response
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How are humans typically exposed to arsenic?
Drinking contaminated water and food prep
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Where is long-term arsenic exposure usually observed?
In the SKIN
- pigment changes
- lesions
- hyperkeratosis
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What does arsenic exposure do to the body?
1. rapidly destroys cells, causing cell death
2. causes apoptosis and depletion of ATP (energy)
3. cell mutations
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What is asbestos?
a natural fibre widely used in construction
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What is asbestosis and how is it characterised?
a chronic, progressive lung disease, characterised by scarring of the lungs
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Why is asbestos inhalation harmful?
Due to the way the fibre splits -
lengthways, making it more accessible to the furthest parts of the lung

Therefore, making it easy to inhale and impossible to remove once inhaled
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What does asbestos cause in the body?
Inflammation and alveolitis
and
activates macrophages - these release cytokines which initiate process of fibrosis, causing stiff alveoli lining and cell apoptosis
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What type of cancer does asbestos cause?
Pleural mesothelioma
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What are the signs and symptoms of asbestosis?
1. non-productive cough
2. dyspnoea on exertion and decreased lung volume
3. pleural plaques
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What is carbon monoxide?
a colourless, odourless gas that is very poisonous
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When exposed to carbon monoxide what happens to the body?
CO combines with haemoglobin in the red blood cells (carboxyhemoglobin) which prevents 02 combining which leads to
HYPOXIC INJURY
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What are the signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning?
- headaches
- nausea and vomitting
- confusion
- drowsiness
- cardiorespiratory failure
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What differentiates UV ray types?
How much energy they have
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What is a high energy UV ray a form of?
Ionising radiation
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How does UV rays cause cancer?
cancer is caused by uncontrolled cell growth due to gene mutations.

UV radiation introduces these mutations
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In a normal cell, if DNA is damaged and it cannot repair itself, what does it do?
Kills itself
(apoptosis)
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If apoptosis does not work, what happens?
the mutated cell grows and multiples without dying, passing the mutation on to new cells
aka, causing cancer
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What are the 3 forms of ionising radiation?
1. UV radiation
2. x-rays
3. gamma rays
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Where can ionising radiation be found?
in the environment -
eg: contaminated air, soil, water
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How can you measure radiation and what is it measured in?
Measure the effect it has on the human tissue

measured in millisieverts (mSv)
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What is the normal mSv in a chest x-ray?
0.10 mSv

(Chernobyl workers who died after a month had typically 6000mSv)
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What does ionising radiation cause in the body?
radiation collides with molecules in cells, damaging them and causing a mutation
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What is primary prevention in health promotion?
the aim to prevent disease or injury BEFORE it occurs
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What is secondary prevention in health promotion?
the aim to reduce impact of a disease/injury that has already occurred
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What is tertiary prevention?
the aim to soften the impact of an ongoing illness/injury that has lasting effects
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What is hypertrophy?
the increase and growth of muscle cells
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What is atrophy?
the partial or complete wasting away of a body part/tissue
ie: due to malnourishment
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What is hyperplasia?
increased number of cells, the initial stage of cancer development
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What is metaplasia?
the transformation of one cell type to another, caused by an external stimulus
- REVERSIBLE
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What is dysplasia?
the transformation of a cell into an abnormal version of itself, caused by internal stimulus
- NOT REVERSIBLE
- leads to cancer
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What is the difference between apoptosis and necrosis?
Apoptosis - programmed process of cell death
Necrosis - accidental cell death resulting from uncontrolled external factors

Difference - one is programmed and one is accidental
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Name 3 intrinsic and 3 extrinsic factors of pressure ulcers
Intrinsic -
1. immobility
2. poor nutrition
3. infection

Extrinsic -
1. moisture
2. friction and sheer forces
3. impact injury
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Give 3 examples of Carbon Monoxide sources
1. internal combustion engines
2. building fires
3. improperly vented stoves/heaters
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What does Carbon Monoxide and haemoglobin form?
Carboxyhemoglobin
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Why is it potentially dangerous?
It prevents 02 molecules combining with Hb which causes hypoxic injury.

this leads to cardiorespiratory failure, due to increased cardiac compensatory mechanisms which eventually become overwhelmed, leading to cardiovascular collapse, which can trigger a
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Why is it important to understand disease risk factors?

Back

Risk factors are modifiable

Card 3

Front

When cell integrity is threatened, what does it do?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What are the 3 causes of cell adaption?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What are the 5 types of cell injury?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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