HSS 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Ovarian Cancer, Brca2
31 Jan 2018
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Hss1101: biological determinants of health lecture 5. Biological factors that determine health may be classified as either endogenous or exogenous. Endogenous biological determinants include genetic heritage and immunity that is passively acquired from maternal antibodies passed across the placenta or transmitted in maternal milk. Genetic heritage is determined largely by responses to biological and physical environmental challenges to which human ancestors were exposed. Exogenous biological determinants of health are the other living things with which humans interact. The most important are microorganisms; also significant are larger organisms that carry them. Aging is not synonymous with poor health. Active living and the provision of opportunities for lifelong learning may be particularly important for maintaining health and cognitive capacity in old age. And studies on education level and dementia suggest that exposure to education and lifelong learning may create reserve capacity in the brain that compensates for cognitive losses that occur with biological aging.
