Diseases can be grouped into two types:

• communicable, or infectious, which can be transferred from one person to another, or from one organism to another, eg in humans, these include measles, food poisoning and malaria
• non-communicable, which are not transferred between people or other organisms, eg cancer or Type 1 diabetes

Non-communicable diseases include:

• diabetes
• inherited genetic diseases and conditions like cystic fibrosis
• heart disease
• neurological disorders
• deficiency diseases which are caused by a lack of essential vitamins or minerals, such as scurvy which occurs when an individual has insufficient vitamin C
• cancer which develops as a result of exposure to carcinogens or develops naturally as cell division occurs incorrectly

Non-communicable diseases can be caused by lifestyle factors such as:

• diet
• alcohol and other drugs
• stress
• accidents and other situations