Which of the following is a non-communicable disease?

Concept

Communicable diseases are caused by infectious agents and can spread directly or indirectly between hosts.

Non-communicable diseases are not passed from one person to another and commonly arise from genetic, physiological, environmental, or behavioural factors.

Application

Classify each disease by its cause and mode of transmission:

• Amoebiasis is an intestinal protozoan infection caused by Entamoeba histolytica and commonly spreads through contaminated food or water.

• Malaria is a parasitic infection caused by Plasmodium species and transmitted by infected Anopheles mosquitoes.

• Arthritis is a group of inflammatory or degenerative joint disorders; common forms are not transmitted between people.

• Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and spreads through the air from a person with pulmonary TB.

Cross-check and contrast

The three infectious diseases each have a recognized transmission route. In the standard public-health use intended here, arthritis denotes common chronic inflammatory or degenerative joint conditions, which are non-communicable; this does not refer to the separate condition of septic arthritis.

Therefore, the non-communicable disease among the given choices is Arthritis.