Lifestyle Diseases: Types, Risk Factors, Diagnosis, and Prevention

India has recently started observing a rise in several types of health-related issues due to lifestyle changes irrespective of age and gender. According to an article by the business world, roughly 61% of Indians die because of lifestyle diseases. These diseases, also known as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), are not limited to adults only as kids are also getting affected nowadays.

Read on to gain a detailed insight into the various aspects of lifestyle diseases!

Lifestyle diseases are ailments whose occurrence is primarily linked with the day to day life habits of an individual. If these daily habits of an individual are improper, they might lead one to follow a sedentary lifestyle on a day-to-day basis. Such a lifestyle can further lead to several chronic non-communicable diseases, which can have near life-threatening consequences.

Now that you are clear about the definition of lifestyle disease, scroll through to know various types of lifestyle diseases.

The different types of lifestyle diseases are given below that will give you a detailed insight into the various ailments.

1. Heart Disease

Heart diseases are an example of lifestyle diseases and refers to conditions involving the heart, its valves, muscles, vessels, or internal electric pathways responsible for muscular contraction. Some of the commonly occurring conditions of heart disease include the following:

• Heart failure
• Arrhythmias
• Cardiomyopathy
• Coronary artery disease
• Heart valve disease

Risk Factors:

While the exact cause of heart disease or cardiovascular disease is not clear, there are several risk factors for developing these lifestyle diseases. They are:

• Age of an individual
• Smoking
• Poor diet
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Gender (Occurs more in men)
• High blood cholesterol levels
• Obesity
• Poor dental health
• Physical inactivity
• Stress

Diagnosis:

The different tests meant for diagnosing such a lifestyle disease are as follows:

• Coronary angiography
• CT scans
• Radionuclide tests
• MRI scans
• Echocardiogram
• Blood tests
• X-rays
• Electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Exercise stress tests

2. Obesity

Individuals become obese because of unhygienic and unhealthy eating habits, reduced physical activity, stressful lifestyles, and other factors. Obese individuals have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25, and they suffer from cardiovascular diseases, breathing problems, blood pressure, and diabetes. This is a primary disorder that can result in several other chronic diseases in an individual.

Risk Factors:

Besides unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits, there are several risk factors for obesity. These include the following:

• Age
• Family history and genetics
• Race and ethnicity
• Gender (Occurs more in men)
• Unhealthy environments like getting exposed to chemicals known as obesogens. These can change hormones and increase fatty tissue in an individual’s body

Diagnosis:

Individuals can diagnose this lifestyle disease by:

• Conducting a general physical exam like checking vital signs like temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure, measuring height, examining the abdomen
• Reviewing health history like weight history, eating patterns, physical activity, medications being administered, etc.
• Keeping a check on waist circumference (abdominal fat or visceral fat)
• Checking body mass index (BMI)
• Checking for other health issues like diabetes, high cholesterol, underactive thyroid, liver problems, high blood pressure

3. Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes refers to a condition where cells cannot utilise glucose or blood sugar efficiently for energy. This occurs when the cells become insensitive to insulin, and the blood sugar levels gradually become too high. A combination of several factors like broken beta cells, extra weight, metabolic syndrome, etc., are responsible for the cause of this lifestyle disease.

Risk Factors:

The various risk factors of this lifestyle disease are the following:

• Being overweight
• Drinking soda
• Excessive consumption of sugar and processed food and foods having simple carbohydrates
• Following a sedentary lifestyle
• Consuming artificial sweeteners (sugar-free foods)
• Genetics or having family members with diabetes
• Lack of exercise
• Stress

Diagnosis:

Type 2 diabetes is generally diagnosed by the glycated haemoglobin (A1C) test. This blood test indicates an individual’s average blood sugar level for the last two to three months. However, if the glycated haemoglobin (A1C) test is not available, or if an individual has certain conditions that interfere with this test, a doctor may use the tests listed below for diagnosing diabetes:

• Fasting blood sugar test
• Random blood sugar test
• Oral glucose tolerance test
• Routine screening with diagnostic tests for type 2 diabetes

4. Stroke

A stroke occurs when a portion of the brain loses blood supply and stops working. This results in the part of the body being controlled by the injured brain to stop working. A stroke is also known as a "brain attack", cerebrovascular accident, or CVA. A stroke is mainly caused because of two reasons – bursting or leaking of a blood vessel (haemorrhagic stroke) or a blocked artery (ischemic stroke).

Risk Factors:

The different risk factors of stroke are:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• High cholesterol
• Smoking
• Having heart rhythm disturbances, especially atrial fibrillation

Diagnosis:

Some of the tests for diagnosing this lifestyle disease include:

• Blood tests include tests for checking whether blood sugar is too low or high, whether there is an infection and how fast the blood clots
• Carotid ultrasound
• Computerized tomography (CT) scan
• Physical exams like checking blood pressure
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Echocardiogram
• Cerebral angiogram

5. Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure refers to the tension or high pressure in the arteries - the vessels responsible for carrying blood from the heart to the rest of the body. 

Wondering what is the effect of this lifestyle disease?

The various complications of hypertension are kidney (renal) disease, heart disease, eye damage, stroke (brain damage), and hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis or atherosclerosis).

Risk Factors:

While the exact cause of high blood pressure is not known, individuals must keep in mind the various risk factors of hypertension mentioned below:

• Family history
• Obesity 
• Age of an individual
• Race
• Being physically inactive
• Tobacco usage
• Consuming excessive salt or sodium
• Intake of too little potassium
• Excessive consumption of alcohol
• Certain chronic conditions like sleep apnea, kidney disease and diabetes
• Stress

Diagnosis:

A device called sphygmomanometer, consisting of a stethoscope, valve, dial, pump, and arm cuff, is commonly used to measure blood pressure. Doctors may recommend additional tests for individuals having high blood pressure to confirm the diagnosis and check for underlying conditions causing hypertension. These include the following:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
• Lab tests such as urine test (urinalysis) and blood tests like a cholesterol test
• Echocardiogram
• Ambulatory monitoring (24-hour blood pressure monitoring test)

6. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) refers to a chronic lung disease that leads to obstructed and inflamed airflow from the lungs. The various symptoms of COPD include chronic cough with mucus, wheezing, long-term breathing issues, etc. The common causes of this lifestyle disease are genetics, smoking, and environmental factors like gas leaks and pollution.

Risk Factors:

The various risk factors for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) are as follows:

• Passive smoking
• Working with chemicals, dust and fumes
• History of childhood respiratory infection
• A genetic condition known as Alpha-1 deficiency

Diagnosis:

After reviewing the signs and symptoms, discussing medical history, family history, and exposure to lung irritants, doctors may order different tests to diagnose COPD. These include:

• Chest X-ray
• Lung (pulmonary) function tests
• Laboratory tests
• Arterial blood gas analysis
• CT scan

7. Asthma

Asthma is a long-term inflammatory lifestyle disease caused because of the narrowing and swelling of the airways. This common chronic disorder leads to shortness of breath, wheezing, prolonged coughing, and chest tightness.

Risk Factors:

While the exact cause of asthma is not known, individuals must note the various risk factors that can increase the chances of developing asthma. These are listed as follows:

• Being overweight
• Having a blood relative (parent or sibling) with asthma
• Smoking
• Having some other allergic condition like atopic dermatitis
• Getting exposed to exhaust fumes or other kinds of pollution
• Exposure to occupational triggers like chemicals used in manufacturing, hairdressing, and farming
• Getting exposed to secondhand smoke

Diagnosis:

Firstly, a doctor conducts a physical exam to rule out possible conditions like COPD or respiratory infection. Some lung function tests may be given to the concerned individual to determine how much air moves in and out while breathing. These include peak flow and spirometry. Besides these, some other tests for diagnosing this lifestyle disease include:

• Imaging tests like chest X-ray
• Methacholine challenge
• Nitric oxide test
• Provocative testing for exercise and cold-induced asthma
• Sputum eosinophils
• Allergy testing

8. Osteoporosis

Is “lifestyle diseases in women” your search query?

Read through to know more!

Osteoporosis is a lifestyle disorder caused because of a lack of androgen hormones in men and estrogen hormones in women. This bone-weakening disease is an example of a commonly occurring lifestyle disease in India, and there are over 10 million cases recorded per year.

In this condition, the bone density decreases, affecting the bone structure and strength. A porous bone can result in an increased risk of fracture. 

Risk Factors:

One should keep in mind the various risk factors that may lead to osteoporosis. These are listed below:

• Vitamin D deficiency
• Smoking
• Having a diet low in calcium
• Race (Asian or Caucasian)
• Family history of osteoporosis – an individual has twice the risk of developing hip fracture if the mother has an osteoporotic hip fracture
• Chronic diseases like chronic hepatitis C and rheumatoid arthritis
• Lack of exercise
• Malabsorption from conditions like  Celiac  Sprue
• Excessive consumption of caffeine and alcohol
• Amenorrhea (loss of menstrual period) in young women 
• Hyperthyroidism and hyperparathyroidism

Diagnosis:

For diagnosing osteoporosis, assessing the risk of fracture and determining the need for treatment, a doctor usually orders a bone density scan. Individuals can be advised to undergo several other procedures for determining bone fractures due to osteoporosis including:

• CT scan of the spine
• MRI of the spine
• Bone X-ray

Go through the different ways mentioned below regarding how to prevent lifestyle diseases:

1. Having a Wholesome Diet

A wholesome diet is essential for an individual’s health and wellbeing. One should consume more fresh fruits, green vegetables, and foods rich in fibre and calcium. Besides this, individuals can undertake the following steps for having a wholesome diet to prevent lifestyle diseases:

• Replacing junk foods with healthy snacks
• Drinking adequate amounts of water
• Eliminating or limiting the consumption of oily foods
• Switching to multigrain or whole-grain flour
• Lowering the portion size and eating at regular intervals (every 2 hours)

2. Maintaining a Balance Between Physical Activity and Food Consumption

It is essential for every individual to maintain the right balance between physical activity and food. An adult individual must undertake some form of physical activity for at least 30 minutes for 5 days a week to keep the immune system active and functioning properly.

Walking is an ideal form of exercise for individuals of all ages. It helps in the burning of calories and also improves stamina, endurance and strength. Besides this, there are several other ways to incorporate physical activity in one’s daily routine and thereby take a step towards the prevention and control of lifestyle diseases. These include:

• Doing household chores for a minimum of 30 minutes daily
• Taking short walks after having meals
• Choosing stairs instead of elevators and lift

3. Monitoring the Body Weight

Individuals must ensure to monitor their body weight closely. Having extra weight, especially near the tummy, can be a possible reason for cardiovascular death. Obese and overweight individuals are also at risk of developing severe health issues such as diabetes, sleep apnea, and cancer. 

One can manage their weight by consuming a fat-free, low-calorie diet and also incorporating some kind of workout in their daily routine.

4. Abstaining from Nicotine, Alcohol or Any Other Form of Drug

Around one-third of deaths caused due to heart diseases can be prevented by avoiding alcohol and nicotine. Both of these substances cause considerable damage to the blood vessels that automatically doubles the risk of blood clotting and atherosclerosis. 

By keeping these health-damaging habits at bay, individuals would be able to prevent lifestyle diseases and develop high energy levels, improved lung capacity and younger-looking skin.

5. Avoiding Consumption of Salt, Oil and Sugar in Excess

Anything in excess turns out to be unhealthy for the body. Consuming a high amount of salt, sugar, and oil can lead to blood pressure, heart problems (because of high cholesterol) and diabetes. So individuals must take steps to cut down on these three ingredients from their diet.

6. Opting for Periodic Health Check-ups

Periodic health check-ups provide a thorough analysis of an individual’s present health status. It also proves to be helpful in early diagnosis and timely treatment of ailments. Individuals searching for lifestyle diseases and their management must schedule an appointment for a health check-up once every 6 months.

Hence individuals concerned about lifestyle diseases must note all the details illustrated above. They should also take steps in their daily life to keep these ailments at bay.