Diseases:

Links in Similarities

Links in Differences

HIV

The links in the

similarities of symptoms
are feeling weak, tired.
The similarities in the
causes of HIV,
Alzheimers and breast
cancer are from motherto-child as the diseases
can be passed on
through genetics which
can develop as the child
grows.

Alzheimers

The links in the

similarities of symptoms
are feeling weak, tired.
The similarities in the
causes of HIV,
Alzheimers and breast
cancer are from motherto-child as the diseases
can be passed on
through genetics.
The similarities between
breast cancer and
Alzheimers is that they
can both be caused by
lifestyle factors such as
drinking alcohol and
smoking as they both
can cause problems to
cells causing them to
act unusual also it can

Differences in symptoms
are swollen glands,
muscle and joint pain,
sore throat and body
rash.
Another difference
would be that HIV is
mainly cause by having
un protected sex which
is not why a person gets
breast cancer or
Alzheimers, also HIV
can be caused due to
blood transfusion due to
sharing needles with an
infected person, from
mother-to-child.
Differences in symptoms
include forgetting recent
events, having
difficulties
communication,
repeating themselves,
forgetting names of
places or where they
are.
Another difference is
that Alzheimers is
caused due to the buildup of beta amyloids and
the shrinkage of neurons
but thats not how
breast cancer or HIV is
developed as
Alzheimers is linked to
the shrinkage of brain
cells eventually leading

Breast Cancer

cause cells to shrink and

deteriorate over time
eventually leading to
cell death. The older a
person is the increased
chance of getting
Alzheimers or breast
cancer as if a person is
old there cells work
more slow and they
start to function slowly
which can cause them
to deteriorate over time,
leading to the shrinkage
of the neurons in the
brain causing the brain
cells to die out.
Another similarity
between Alzheimers
and the cause of breast
cancer is that they can
both be caused because
of a person being
overweight or obese,
this can be due to
lifestyle factors such as
not eating the right
foods and so if a person
is old and they are not
eating healthy they can
develop certain infection
or diabetes which can
result in the brain cells
getting damaged which
can cause them to
shrink and deteriorate.
The links in the
similarities of symptoms
are feeling weak, tired.
The similarities in the
causes of HIV,
Alzheimers and breast
cancer are from mother-

to cell death but cancer

associates with breast
cells and HIV virus
attacks the CD4 cells,
each disease is to do
with a different cell in
the body.

The differences in
symptoms are finding a
lump or swelling in
either armpit, a change
in shape or size of one
or both breasts which
are not symptoms of HIV

to-child as the diseases

can be passed on
through genetics and so
the person can also get
breast cancer.
The similarities between
breast cancer and
Alzheimers is that they
can both be caused by
lifestyle factors such as
drinking alcohol and
smoking as they both
can cause problems to
cells causing them to
act unusual or become
abnormal which means
they can start to
multiply out of control.
Also, the older a person
is the increased chance
of getting breast cancer
or Alzheimers.
Another similarity
between breast cancer
and the cause of
Alzheimers is that they
can both be caused
because of a person
being overweight or
obese as they may be a
lot of oestrogen
produced in the body
after menopause which
can cause breast cancer.

or Alzheimers, a
discharge from either
nipple, a rash on or
around the nipple,
change in appearance in
the nipple.
Another difference is
that Breast cancer can
be caused because the
woman is taller so she
has an increased chance
of getting breast cancer.

HIV:
HIV can have a large impact on individual as they may lose
their self-esteem, they may want to resign from work as they
may be too embarrassed to work or they may feel too weak but
the disease also has large impacts on the community on a
wider scale.
Having HIV can have a huge impact on the economy as the
more people with HIV means more money spent on medication
and providing treatment, if more and more people are getting
HIV due to them losing their income and them working as sex
workers a lot of money will spent. This means that if someone
resigned from their job because they feel embarrassed this
means that they may look into earning money and the only way
might be sex workers. However, this causes a negative impact
on the community on a wider scale and more money will be
needed to be spent in order to make sure that people are living
healthy lives.

The graph shows the percentage of treatment costs of

HIV/AIDS, in 2005 about 65% of the ministry of health budget
was spent in Zimbabwe, 50% in Kenya in 2005 and about 30%
in 2014 in Ethiopia. This shows that even though from 2005 to
2014 the cost of treatments had reduced, it was still a large
amount of money being used for treatments and so a lot of
money is going to treatment when people can prevent

themselves from being infected by HIV by using protection so

even if they did have sex at least they can reduce the spread of
HIV within other people.
Moreover, HIV also affects the community on a large scale as
people cant go to school as they are ill and so the disease has
a large impact on education as if students return home sick or
go to look after someone who has got the disease and is sick
they cant go to school, education is vital for people to
understand how the disease spreads and how to prevent it, and
if the family member isnt treated they can die of AIDS which
means they have to work to make income, teachers may not
want to work with people who have HIV and so this will also be
a loss on the school as if no one attends then people cant earn
money for their family which means they may turn to produce
income through sex work. HIV epidemic effected not only in
the health sector but also in education and the wider economy,
it has impacted heavily on education. School attendance drops.
Many lose their parents to HIV and AIDS meaning they can no
longer afford to go to school, or are required to work and
generate income instead. The epidemic also impacts upon the
already limited supply of teachers. If people cant go school
they wont understand that they are spreading the disease and
if they are not treated on time they can get AIDS which can
result in death.
In poor regions it is difficult to get treated as most healthcare
workers may have HIV themselves as they may have had sex
with someone who is affected maybe for extra money to
provide income for their family; HIV and AIDS have put serious
pressure on the health sector, and on hospital resources, there
is a chronic shortage of healthcare workers, who themselves,
are often living with HIV, in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa,
antiretroviral treatment is relieving this burden. There is most
likely a shortage of treatment and equipment in poor countries
and so if more and more people are getting HIV then more and
more treatment will be required but treating every person will
be difficult and this affects the community as a lot of people will

be affected, in need of treatment which also effects economy

as a lot of money will be needed for treatment and most of the
people will be likely to be jobless so they will need to turn to
other work to provide for their family which may result in
turning to sex work, this may cause other to get HIV.

The first graph shows the health costs per person for different
countries, the second data shows a scatter graph showing life
expectancy against health expenditure, it shows that as the
expenditure increases the life expectancy of people also
increases, and so they need treatment in order to live longer
however, if treatment is limited then peoples life expectancy
will decrease.

When a person gets HIV it affects the economy further as costs

for treatments, medicines, care and things needed for a funeral
is costing too much as if there isnt enough money to provide
for treatment then the person affected can die by getting AIDS:
Medical costs, which include the cost of drugs and traditional
medical treatment, funeral expenses of family members are a

heavy burden on the family budget. Funeral costs appear to be

even higher than medical expenses in some settings. So when
a person has the disease if there isnt enough money to treat
them, a lot of money will still be needed to be used for their
funeral and if there isnt enough money the family will have
problem that will be almost impossible to overcome this affects
the community as it a huge burden upon families and others
and if they cant afford it they will seek to finding other ways to
earn money which may result in causing the disease to spread;
sex work.
Research shows that there is a poor economic growth as when
people have HIV a lot of money is used as a journal states;
Economic factors thought to affect HIV in 72 non-industrialised
countries found that indicators of poverty, income inequality,
gender inequality, poor economic growth. Poor economic
growth is due to a lot of money being spent on treatments and
so the economy is being reduced rather than being saved and
increased and so if it is needed in emergency in the future it
will be difficult as money may be limited.
HIV affects the community on a large scale as in poor countries
people cant afford to go to school and so they will be clueless
regarding HIV and so if they dont know what it is they cant do
anything about it also, if people or doctors dont fully
understand how HIV is developed then they cant do anything
about it which affects the community as they will also be
clueless; We are a long way from fully understanding how and
why the large variation in the HIV epidemic around the world
have developed. Scientists and doctors need to fully find out
by concentrating on the development of HIV in poor countries
where it affects people the most as people wont do anything
unless they know what it is.
The community will get extremely worried if they feel at risk to
HIV as in some countries such as Algeria and Sudan it is said
that HIV maybe spreading to the overall people living in the
country; Recent data from Algeria and Sudan give warning

signs that HIV may be spreading into the general population.

This may have a frightening impact on the community as they
may feel at risk to HIV as they may not be sure if the person
they are with has the disease, they may be too uncomfortable
to ask them, this affects the community on a large scale as
people may feel at threat to the diseases.

The data shows that amount of people with HIV in places such
as Algeria, there is a large amount of people affected; the
community are affected in a negative way as even though they
may know they are at risk to HIV they may not want to address
it as they may be ashamed.

Breast Cancer:
Having a cancer such as breast cancer can impact largely on an
individual as they may be too weak to work or the symptoms of
breast cancer may be too extreme and so there will be no
chance on them working, in this way people wont be able to
pay for their rent or mortgage and so this will be a loss on their
income. However, the disease also has effects on the
community on a larger scale.
Having breast cancer could affect the economy as a lot of
money is spent for treatments for people with breast cancer as
treatments such as Chemotherapy are the most expensive
drug. This means that as more and more people get breast
cancer more and more people will look for treatments such as
chemotherapy.

This graph shows how many cases per 100,000 people with
breast cancer, if so many people around the world are getting
breast cancer so many of them will look to seeking medical
advice and getting treated and so most common treatment is
chemotherapy which is one of the most expensive drug and so
this can have a large impact on the community on a wider and
the economy as most of the money is being used on treatments
and drugs.

This picture show how expensive the cost of cancer care is in

America per person, this will be a loss on the economy as the
more people getting cancer means more money spent or
providing care for the patients, even if patients dont get cured
or dont survive a lot of money is being used up. The money
can be used for other things such as building a school.

Breast cancer affects the community on a wider scale as people

may feel worried about thinking of the person with the cancer,
people may feel really devastated towards the patient, and this
affects the community as it may be disturbing watching some
walk by or work with you who doesnt have breasts or lost their
hair due to chemotherapy.

Alzheimers:
Living with Alzheimers affects an individual as they lose their
selfs, they dont know who they are or where they are, it
affects them as they may feel confused or weak at all times
especially if a family member keeps trying to make them
remember where they are. It separates them from other and
they may lose their individuality. However, Alzheimers also
affects the community on a wider scale.
Alzheimers affects the community on a wider scale as if more
people are getting Alzheimers there will be an increase in
death rate as if people are dying eventually because of the

shrinkage of the neurons in the brain then there will be a

decrease in the population. In US, approximately 5.5 million
people are affected; the prevalence worldwide is estimated to
be as high as 24 million. The population will decrease over
time. The graph below show the number of people with
Alzheimers in the US and shows that by 2050 there will be
about 14million people living with Alzheimers, this is a huge
loss on population as more and more people can die as its a
progressive disease and slow deterioration of the neurons in
the brain.

Living with dementia can have a huge effect on the economy as

a person who has Alzheimers will come to a stage where they
will need extra care (medication, love). This will add up to the
budget unless care is provided, if so it will have a large impact
on the economy as the more people who get Alzheimers
means more care needed and more money spent in order to
look after the patient so they can live a little longer in a good
environment; Many people with dementia will reach a stage
where they will need additional care and support to help them
live well with the condition which involves a wide variety of
services that include day care services, personal care services
in someone's own home, and full-time care in a care home. All
this will be a lot of money spend on one person as each person
needs the best of care for their quality of life, medications cost

a lot of money. A prescription drug cost for people living with

Alzheimers is about $3,000. If the patient takes other
medications the medication for Alzheimers may not be
effective and so this will be a waste of money and so
Alzheimers disease will have an heavy economic burden on the
family on society due to the need of persistent care and
therapy.

References:
Class work and notes
The global epidemiology of HIV/AIDS booklet
Epidemiology of Alzheimer Disease booklet
Introduction to cancer epidemiology booklet

http://www.avert.org/impact-hiv-and-aids-sub-saharanafrica.htm#sthash.0g42tcnU.dpuf
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/HIV/Pages/Symptomspg.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cancer-of-the-breastfemale/Pages/Symptoms.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/alzheimers-disease/Pages/symptoms.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer-of-the-breastfemale/Pages/Causes.aspx
http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0259e/x0259e03.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181909/
http://www.alz.org/care/alzheimers-dementia-common-costs.asp
http://ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/GlobalReach.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181909/
http://www.aho.afro.who.int/profiles_information/index.php/Algeria:Analyti
cal_summary_-_HIV/AIDS