A noncommunicable disease (NCD) is a disease that is not directly transmitted from one person to another. NCDs include Parkinson's disease, autoimmune diseases, stroke, most heart disease, most cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, cataracts and others. NCDs can be chronic or acute. Most are non-infectious, although there are some non-communicable infectious diseases, such as parasitic diseases, which do not involve direct host-to-host transmission.
NCDs are the leading cause of death worldwide. In 2012, they accounted for 68% of all deaths (38 cost) compared to 60% in 2000. About half were under 70 and half were women. Risk factors such as a person's history, lifestyle and environment increase the likelihood of certain NCDs. Every year at least 5 more people die from smoking and about 2.8 more die from being overweight. High cholesterol accounts for about 2.6 greater deaths and 7.5 million deaths from high blood pressure.
Risk factors such as a person's history; lifestyle and the environment are known to increase certain likelihood of noncommunicable diseases. They include age, gender, genetics, exposure to air pollution and behaviors such as smoking, unhealthy eating and physical inactivity which can lead to hypertension and obesity. increased NCDs of increased risk. Most NCDs are considered preventable because they are modifiable risk factors. The WHO World Health Report 2002 identified the top ten health risks among noncommunicable diseases. These include increased blood pressure, increased cholesterol, tobacco consumption, alcohol consumption and being overweight.