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