Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by periodic obstruction of the bronchioles. Two key features of asthma are reversible airflow obstruction and bronchial hyper responsiveness to stimuli. Triggers of airway hyper responsiveness include respiratory infections, exercise, cold or dry air, atmospheric pollutants, occupational irritants, or specific environmental allergens. Other risk factors for asthma include heredity, history of allergies, cigarette smoking, and socioeconomic status.

The syndrome of dementia is an irreversible decline in cognitive abilities that causes significant dysfunction. Like most syndromes,dementia can be caused by a number of diseases. In the 19th century, for example, a main cause of dementia was syphilis. Currently, as a result of dramatic increases in average human life expectancy, dementia is caused primarily by a number of neurological diseases associated with old age. Dementia is distinguished from “pseudodementia” because the latter is reversible—for example, depression, extreme stress, and infection can cause dementia, but with treatment, a return to a former cognitive state is likely.

Although patterns of drinking and behavior when inebriated vary cross-culturally, alcohol consumption affects men and women differently in all cultures for biological as well as social reasons. Women’s bodies metabolize alcohol differently from men’s because of their generally smaller body size, greater fat-to-muscle ratio, and fluctuating hormonal levels. Although the capacity to drink alcohol without showing strong effects of inebriation varies individually and can be modified by experience, in general, women get drunker faster on less alcohol than men.

Agoraphobia is a psychiatric illness in which individuals are anxious about being in situations where escape may be difficult or embarrassing. Nervousness may also occur if someone is not available to help in case a panic attack or panic-like symptoms occur.

The term “ageism,” a set of beliefs about age, was coined in the late 20th century. It is a form of stereotyping that refers to prejudgment or discrimination against any particular age group, although it is typically viewed today as a negative perspective about the aged.

Adultery is consensual sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than that person’s spouse. Adultery is rarely charged as a crime. It is more often a concern as a part of a divorce case. Adultery is one of many possible grounds for divorce in the majority of states in the United States. Historically, adultery was one of the few grounds, and in one state the only reason, on which divorce would be allowed. Adultery was also historically important in states that linked child custody or property decisions to the grounds for divorce. Now that most states have “no fault” grounds for divorce, adultery is much less legally significant.

Adoption is both a legal event and a lifelong experience that affects birth parents, adoptees, and adoptive parents. The birth family, the adoptee, and the adoptive family are known as the adoption triad. It is estimated that 2–5% of American households include adopted children. This translates into over 100,000 adoptions occurring in the United States each year.

Adolescence, by many accounts, is a period rooted in culture and society. Prior to the industrial revolution, children were treated like adults and worked side by side with their parents in the factories. Industrialization during the 19th century led to new patterns of work that excluded children, lengthened the amount of formal schooling, and brought increased economic dependence of youth on their families.

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Addiction is a common language term for the clinical entity known as Chemical Dependence. For decades Americans have known the term addiction to indicate an individual who is out of control in their use of mood-altering drugs. The term addiction has taken on a connotation that is highly stigmatized (like the term “alcoholic” is much more stigmatized than the term “drinking problem”). In reality, addiction is a primarily genetic, chronic progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by the intermittent inconsistent loss of control over the use of mood-altering drugs, resulting in repetitive adverse consequences to the user.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States. In fact, according to the 2003 statistical update from the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease kills over 7 million women annually in the United States, more than the next seven causes of death combined. Of these cardiovascular deaths, the most common cause is acute myocardial infarction (MI). An MI occurs when blood supply to the heart is suddenly interrupted for some period of time. This process may occur because of the development of a thrombus on the surface of a previously existing cholesterol plaque in the coronary arteries.