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
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.
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 ...
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 ...
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MRI helps detect life-threatening pregnancy complication
6 hours ago |
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A study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) revealed that MRI is a highly accurate means of identifying placenta accreta, a potentially life-threatening and increasingly ...
Study shows antibiotic unsuccessful in preventing preterm labor
Medicine & Health / Medications
7 hours ago |
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The antibiotic, called azithromycin, is effective in treating infections such as syphilis, Chlamydia and Ureaplasma urealyticum - a bacterial infection thought to play a significant role in causing preterm labour. Recent studi ...
Americans born in the South may have a higher risk of dying from stroke as adults
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
21 hours ago |
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The "stroke belt" has a tight hold. People born in the Southern stroke belt have a higher risk of dying from stroke as adults, even if they later move away, compared to people who were born in other parts of the country. ...
Heavy metal paradox could point toward new therapy for Lou Gehrig's disease
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
21 hours ago |
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New discoveries have been made about how an elevated level of lead, which is a neurotoxic heavy metal, can slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease - findings that could point the way ...
Sugary cola drinks linked for first time to higher risk of gestational diabetes
23 hours ago |
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Researchers from LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's ...
Availability of vaccine no guarantee public will want it
Nov 30, 2009 |
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Just because a vaccine is available doesn't mean people will choose to be inoculated, according to new UofT research published amid widespread public confusion around the merit of H1N1 flu shots.
Beverage can stay-tabs pose swallowing risk
Nov 30, 2009 |
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Three decades ago, a study revealed that beverage can pull-tabs were being swallowed by children, prompting a switch by U.S. manufacturers to stay-tabs. But a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological ...
New figures on cancer in Europe show a steady decline in mortality but big variations
Nov 30, 2009 |
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New figures on deaths from cancer in Europe show a steady decline in mortality between the periods 1990-1994 and 2000-2004. Deaths from all cancers in the European Union (EU) between these two periods fell by nine percent ...
Too much physical activity may lead to arthritis
Nov 30, 2009 |
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Middle-aged men and women who engage in high levels of physical activity may be unknowingly causing damage to their knees and increasing their risk for osteoarthritis, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting ...
Physician-scientist proves stem cells heal lungs of newborn animals
Nov 26, 2009 |
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Dr. Bernard Thébaud lives in two very different worlds. As a specialist in the Stollery Children's Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, he cares for tiny babies, many of whom struggle ...
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