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Noncommunicable diseases, also known as chronic diseases, are generally long-lasting and progress slowly, and thus they are sometimes also referred to as chronic diseases.
They can arise from environmental exposures or from genetically determined abnormalities, which may be evident at birth or which may become apparent later in life.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified four major types of noncommunicable disease: cancer,cardiovascular disease(e.g., heart attack, stroke), chronic respiratory disease (e.g., asthma), and diabetes mellitus. WHO estimates that, combined, these four groups of conditions account for 82 percent of all deaths from noncommunicable disease.
Noncommunicable diseases that arise from inherited genetic abnormalities often leave an individual ill-equipped to survive without some form of treatment. Examples of inherited disease include cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, and inborn errors of metabolism, which are present at birth. Examples of inherited diseases that emerge in adulthood include Huntington disease and certain forms of cancer (e.g., familial breast cancer involving inherited mutations in either of the genes BRCA1orBRCA2).
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