There are many factors that are affecting the patterns of health in the UK. For socio- economic I’m going to look at the social class and the influence on alcohol. According to the BBC (2010) “The Health Survey for England 2009 found that 29% of men and 17% of women in the highest-earning group consumed alcohol on five or more days a week.” This shows that the people on the top end of the social class drink a lot of alcohol and they drink more than the people in the lower social class. “17% of men and 11% of women in the lowest income households.” (BBC news, 2010). Alcohol can cause a lot of health problems such as kidney failure and liver failure. Also social class can play a big factor on health because if they come from a high social class they have more money to be able to pay for health care that they need and they can afford to have a healthy diet.
By looking at the chart above the north east has the highest of bad health and the lowest for good health. The good health percentage for the north east is 44% and the bad health is 7.4%. If we compare this to London which tends to be a richer part of the country than the north, London has 50.5% for very good health and only 5% bad health. This shows that the social class has an impact on the health of the people. According to gov .
com “The majority of authorities with the highest rates are also among the most advantaged authorities in England”. This proves that the most advantaged areas have better health than the less advantaged areas. Environmental For environmental I am going to look at how housing is effecting the health patterns in England. In 2009-10, there were an estimated 25,400 excess winter deaths, over 21% are attributable to the coldest quarter of homes” ( The guardian,2011) . This shows that in the UK that some houses in the UK cannot afford to heat their house; therefore the house is cold which leads to people getting illnesses and may even die especially if they are an older person. As having a cold house can lead to cardiovascular and respiratory problems. In the guardian(2011) it states that “The 1 million children living in overcrowded homes are up to 10 times more likely to contract meningitis and three times more likely to have respiratory problems”.
This shows that having a crowded house can cause problems due to people being in a small area and the illnesses can spread quickly as there are many people to catch it. Also if a person lives in a damp house that has mould on the walls then they are likely to have some respiratory illness. “Research found people with asthma were twice as likely to live in homes with damp as those without.” (The Guardian, 2011) This shows a link between asthma and living in a damp house. Risk behaviour/ lifestyleFor risk behaviour I’ve chosen diet and how diet affects current patterns of health. According to public health England “more than 1 in 5 children are overweight or obese when they begin school”.
This shows that in England the diet is not healthy and that lots of children in the uk are overweight or obese. “Overweight and obesity in adults is predicted to reach 70% by 2034” (public health England). This shows that over the years it’s predicted that the majority of adults in England will be overweight or obese.
“The National Diet and Nutrition Survey found that sugary drinks account for 30% of 4 to 10 year olds’ daily sugar intake.” (Public health England) this shows the lack of balanced diet in children and how many young children drink sugary drinks or eat a diet which is very high in sugar. Genetic According to NHS choices “Cystic fibrosis is an inherited condition in which the lungs and digestive system can become clogged with thick, sticky mucus”.
This can cause breathing problems for the individual as well as the lungs getting damaged as the individual get older. Eventually the lungs may stop working which means that individual may need a lung transplant to survive. For genetic I’ve chosen cystic fibrosis and how cystic fibrosis affects current patterns of health. People with cystic fibrosis get recurring chest and lung infections. According to nursing times “several other health problems that can occur as a result of cystic fibrosis. These include: diabetes, liver damage, infertility, and osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones).
As people with cystic fibrosis are at risk of getting other health problems, it shows that they are more likely to get ill. However there is not many deaths of cystic fibrosis due to the treatment that is available to help people with cystic fibrosis to live longer. According to the British Lung Foundation “In 2012, of the 111 people who died from cystic fibrosis, 54 were males and 57 were females (0.1% of deaths from lung disease).
The total number of deaths was down from 122 in 2008.” This shows that people dying from cystic fibroses is decreasing as the years go on. So cystic fibrosis is affecting the health patterns because less people are dying from cystic fibrosis which means that it would change the mortality rates for people dying from genetic diseases/ illnesses. According to NHS choices “Currently, about half of the people with cystic fibrosis will live past the age of 40. Children born with the condition nowadays are likely to live longer than this.” This shows that management for the condition is getting better meaning more people are more likely to live longer with the condition.
M2- discuss factors likely to influence current and future patterns of healthGENETIC Cystic fibrosis currently does not have any treatment to cure it however more people are living longer with the condition. This is due to the improvements in treatment for cystic fibrosis. The average life span for cystic fibrosis is 41 years old. According to cystic fibrosis trust “The median predicted survival for someone with CF currently stands at 41 years old.” Whereas in the 1960s children were “dying way before their 10th birthday” (Buckland, 2016).
This shows significantly higher survival rates nowadays due to the improvements of treatment for people with cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis can affect the patterns of health in the UK because “Around 10,400 people in the UK have cystic fibrosis; that’s 1 in every 2,500 babies born” (cystic fibrosis trust). The treatments for cystic fibrosis are getting better so the life expectancy will likely to rise in the next few years. According to cystic fibrosis trust “As the result of significant improvements in treatment, standards of care and basic understanding of cystic fibrosis, there are now more adults than children with the condition”. This shows that people are living longer as long time ago it was rare to live to adulthood if a person had cystic fibrosis. LifestyleWe know that having a healthy lifestyle can increase are age. This is because living a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and other diseases that can limit a person’s life.
According to NHS choices “Eating a healthy, balanced diet plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy weight, which is an important part of overall good health”. Whereas being overweight or obese can increase your likelihood of getting “health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease and stroke”. So having an unhealthy lifestyle would affect your health and your life expectancy in a negative way. Obesity is effecting the current and future health patterns as “Overweight and obesity in adults is predicted to reach 70% by 2034” (public health England). This shows that by 2034 majority of England’s adult population could be overweight meaning they will be risking their lives by being overweight.
