Diseases of affluence
A civilization disease (also lifestyle disease; . Engl lifestyle disease) is a collective term for diseases that are more common in industrialized countries than in the so-called Third World and their risk of disease probably depends on the prevailing conditions of life.
The achievements of civilization, led by improved hygiene, medical advances in disease prevention (eg vaccines) and treatment (eg antibiotics ) and a secure food supply have led to numerous diseases that were common in pre- industrial era today occur much less frequently, and especially less prone to death. At the same time the incidence of diseases increased, while you barely knew in pre- industrial era.
Since not civilization as such, ie the establishment of a civil order and participation in the socio- technological and medical progress, but certain common lifestyles, behaviors, and environmental factors have been identified as hazardous to health in industrialized countries, the term disease of civilization is misleading. However, it is in general use.
Classification of a disease as a civilization disease
In the literature, no consensus exists as to which diseases are attributable to lifestyle diseases and which are not. Therefore, there is not a complete and exhaustive list of the diseases of civilization. The following diseases are, however, often called:
- Caries
- Heart and vascular diseases
- Diabetes mellitus type 2
- Hypertension
- Overweight and obesity
- Gout
- Some allergies
- Certain cancers (eg, lung cancer, colon cancer )
- Certain skin conditions (eg, eczema, acne)
- Eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa)
- Certain psychiatric disorders
Many other diseases is a reputed connection with the prevailing conditions in the industrialized countries, although this is not scientifically proven in each individual case.
Causes of the diseases of civilization
The exact causes of the diseases of civilization, there is little agreement as well as on the diseases of civilization itself is certain that not a single factor, but probably a combination of genetic susceptibility, lifestyle and environmental factors ultimately leads to disease.
Largely undisputed risk factors for the appearance of some of the above mentioned diseases of civilization are:
- Consumption of sugar (candy, food, drinks)
- Cigarette smoke / nicotine
- Alcohol
- Lack of exercise
- About and malnutrition
- Environmental toxins
- Noise pollution
- Stress
- Social factors (eg, unemployment, loneliness )
- Excessive hygiene (see hygiene hypothesis of allergy development )
- Certain standards and ideals (eg, pressure to perform, slim ideal )
- Media overstimulation
Depending on the disease, other factors are discussed, but are sometimes only poorly understood and the subject of ideological debates embossed. See the entries for the individual diseases.
The above risk factors may explain the increased incidence of certain diseases in the industrialized countries only partly because risky behavior, such as nicotine and alcohol consumption, and environmental pollution are also found in the non-industrialized countries. One possible explanation for this is that many lifestyle diseases occur only in older age, so that they hardly appear in countries with lower life expectancy, because a majority of people previously died from other diseases, such as infectious diseases (AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis ).
Another reason could be that certain diseases can hardly be diagnosed by the poorer medical care in non-industrialized countries and therefore not included in the statistics.
Treatment of diseases of civilization
The treatment of diseases of civilization includes among others the reduction of the above mentioned Risk factors, but is otherwise aligned specifically to the single disease (refer to the entries for the individual diseases).