Many people may not know that there are many diseases that do not arise from pathogens or infections transmitted from others, but instead are diseases caused by our own improper lifestyle behaviors. Over time, this leads to the development of diseases called “chronic non-communicable diseases” or NCDs without realizing it.
Get to Know Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)
NCDs or non-communicable diseases are a group of chronic non-communicable diseases that do not result from infections and cannot be transmitted to others. Most diseases in this group progress slowly, with symptoms gradually accumulating without the patient realizing it. If regular health check-ups are not done, these diseases often go unnoticed and untreated in time, causing the condition to worsen and eventually become chronic. This can lead to dangerous complications and significantly impact life, such as becoming bedridden after a stroke, or experiencing chronic shortness of breath after ischemic heart disease.
What Diseases Are Included in the NCDs Group?
You might not expect that just living your usual lifestyle without much attention to health can lead to these NCDs.
- Diabetes: A condition where blood sugar is uncontrollably higher than normal, leading to complications such as blindness, kidney failure, and chronic foot ulcers.
- Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases: Caused by the buildup of fatty plaques inside blood vessel walls, resulting in insufficient blood supply to the heart and brain, leading to ischemic heart disease, heart attack, stroke, or hemorrhagic stroke, causing paralysis or disability.
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): Inflammation of the air sacs in the lungs, causing abnormal gas exchange, often caused by smoking.
- Cancer: Caused by abnormal cells in the body, commonly liver cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer.
- Hypertension: A condition where blood pressure in the arteries is higher than normal, caused by aging, lack of exercise, and high salt intake, leading to hardened arteries and arterial stenosis.
- Abdominal obesity: Caused by metabolic disorders, excessive consumption of sweets, fatty and fried foods, and lack of exercise, resulting in fat accumulation under the skin and in the abdominal cavity, leading to a large waist circumference and increased risk of complications such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and snoring.
Risk Behaviors Leading to NCDs
The main causes of chronic non-communicable diseases come from lifestyle behaviors, including eating habits, work, stress, and even rest. If we live carelessly and neglect health care, the risk of disease increases. The behaviors to watch out for include:
- Consuming foods that are very sweet, very salty, or high in fat
- Drinking alcoholic beverages
- Smoking
- Not exercising
- Insufficient rest
- Experiencing stress
- Taking medication without consulting a doctor, such as painkillers, drug sets, herbal medicines, or pills
Reduce Disease Risk by Simply Adjusting Behaviors
Living free from NCDs is not difficult; we just need to improve some of our behaviors.
- Eat a balanced diet with all 5 food groups in appropriate amounts, focusing on vegetables and fruits that are not too sweet
- Avoid eating foods that are very sweet, very salty, or high in fat
- Reduce salt intake to less than 2,500 mg/day (about 1 teaspoon of salt)
- Reduce sugar intake to less than 20 g/day (about 4 teaspoons of sugar)
- Exercise regularly for at least 30 minutes per session, 5 times a week, totaling 150 minutes
- Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages
- Quit smoking
- Get enough rest
- Relax and reduce stress
- Have regular annual health check-ups including fasting blood sugar, blood lipids (cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides), liver function tests (AST, ALT), kidney function tests (BUN, creatinine), electrocardiogram (EKG), chest X-ray, and others as recommended by your doctor
- Take medications as prescribed by your doctor; do not self-medicate without consulting a doctor or pharmacist
If you think that NCDs are not contagious diseases and therefore not a concern… you are mistaken! NCDs are among the leading causes of death in Thai people and the trend is increasing.
NCDs are considered a silent threat that can disrupt our happiness in life. We must be prepared, be cautious, and avoid living at risk by taking the best care of our health. Most importantly, regular health check-ups are essential to detect abnormalities early and receive timely treatment.
