Lifestyle & Non-Communicable Diseases (AQA GCSE Biology)

Risk Factors

• Risk factors are linked to an increased rate of a disease; but exposure to a risk factor doesn’t guarantee that an individual will suffer a disease (a person who smokes regularly isn’t guaranteed to develop lung cancer but their risk compared to someone who doesn’t smoke is much, much higher)

• Certain risk factors correlate with certain diseases (are related to them); but correlations are not always causations

• Risk factors can be:

  • Aspects of a person’s lifestyle; such as the food they eat or whether or not they drink alcohol

  • Substances in the person’s body or environment; such as air pollution in a crowded city or asbestos in old buildings

Causal Mechanisms & Risk Factors

• A causal mechanism has been proven for some risk factors, but not in others

Risk factors & causal mechanisms table

• Many diseases are caused by the interaction of a number of factors; the chance of developing cardiovascular disease is higher in individuals who have a poor diet high in cholesterol (fat), don’t exercise regularly and smoke – because all of these behaviours increase the likelihood of damage occurring to the arteries