Related topics: heart disease , risk
Risk factor
hideA risk factor is a variable associated with an increased risk of disease or infection. Risk factors are correlational and not necessarily causal, because correlation does not imply causation. For example, being young cannot be said to cause measles, but young people are more at risk as they are less likely to have developed immunity during a previous epidemic.
Risk factors are evaluated by comparing the risk of those exposed to the potential risk factor to those not exposed. Let's say that at a wedding, 74 people ate the chicken and 22 of them were ill, while of the 35 people who had the fish or vegetarian meal only 2 were ill. Did the chicken make the people ill?
So the chicken eaters' risk = 22/74 = 0.297 And non-chicken eaters' risk = 2/35 = 0.057.
Those who ate the chicken had a risk over five times as high as those who did not, suggesting that eating chicken was the cause of the illness. Note, however, that this is not proof. Statistical methods would be used in a less clear cut case to decide what level of risk the risk factor would have to present to be able to say the risk factor is linked to the disease (for example in a study of the link between smoking and lung cancer). Even then, no amount of statistical analysis could prove that the risk factor causes the disease; this could only be proven using direct methods such as a medical explanation of the disease's roots.
The earliest use of risk factor analysis dates back to Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine (1020s), though the term "risk factor" was first coined by heart researcher Dr. Thomas R. Dawber in a landmark scientific paper in 1961, where he attributed heart disease to specific conditions (blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking).
For more information about Risk factor, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with risk factors
Obesity will snuff out health benefits gained by smoking declines
Dec 02, 2009 |
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If obesity trends continue, the negative effect on the health of the U.S. population will overtake the benefits gained from declining smoking rates, according to a study by U-M and Harvard researchers published today in the ...
Breastfeeding protects women from metabolic syndrome, a diabetes and heart disease predictor
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Breastfeeding a child may lower a woman’s risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome, a condition linked to heart disease and diabetes in women, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that was published today online ahead of print ...
Smoking remains potent risk factor for death from heart disease, cancer
Nov 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Smoking persists as a major risk factor for death from heart disease and cancer in adults who already have heart disease and receive good medical therapy, according to research reported in Circulation: Jo ...
Deepening the search for clues to rheumatoid arthritis
Nov 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The gnawing pain of rheumatoid arthritis is a signal that the body’s immune system has hit the wrong target: its own cartilage and bone.
Increased stroke risk from birth control pills
Medicine & Health / Medications
Oct 26, 2009 |
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She was only 30 years old, but she was experiencing the classic symptoms of a stroke. Her speech suddenly became slurred, and her left hand became clumsy while eating.
Type 2 Diabetes Rears Its Ugly Head Long Before Diagnosis
May 14, 2009 |
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Signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes can present themselves as long as 10 years before diagnosis and most people have no idea before the damage is done.
Multiple genes implicated in autism
Feb 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- By pinpointing two genes that cause autism-like symptoms in mice, researchers at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory have shown for the first time that multiple, interacting genetic risk factors ...
Smoking, high blood pressure, being overweight -- top 3 preventable causes of death in the US
Apr 28, 2009 |
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Smoking, high blood pressure and being overweight are the leading preventable risk factors for premature mortality in the United States, according to a new study led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), ...
Feeling down and out could break your heart, literally
Mar 09, 2009 |
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New data published in the March 17, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggest that relatively healthy women with severe depression are at increased risk of cardiac events, including sudden cardia ...
Heart Hazards of Woeful Wives
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Mar 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Women in strained marriages are more likely to feel depressed and suffer high blood pressure, obesity and other signs of "metabolic syndrome," a group of risk factors for heart disease, stroke and diabetes, ...
Vitamin C intake associated with lower risk of gout in men
Mar 09, 2009 |
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Men with higher vitamin C intake appear less likely to develop gout, a painful type of arthritis, according to a report in the March 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Childhood health disparities can have life-long health effects
Jun 02, 2009 |
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Research indicates that physical and mental stress in childhood may have life-long adverse health effects and policy initiatives are needed to emphasize the importance of starting health promotion and disease prevention early ...
Tourette syndrome misconceptions only one battle for patients
Apr 15, 2009 |
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The most disabling aspect of Tourette syndrome is that in 90% of cases, it exists in conjunction with another disorder. The most frequent co-occurring condition in people with Tourette is attention deficit ...
Heart failure strikes younger African-Americans at the same rate as older Caucasians
Mar 18, 2009 |
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Heart failure—a disabling and often deadly form of heart disease—is hitting African Americans in their thirties and forties at the same rate as Caucasians in their fifties and sixties, according to a study featured as the ...
ACC/AHA revised guidelines for the perioperative use of beta blockers to minimize cardiac risk
Nov 02, 2009 |
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Cardiac complications around the time of noncardiac surgery are relatively common and can be serious. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) today release a Focused Update to the ...
