A factor It is an element that acts together with others. The idea of risk , on the other hand, refers to the proximity or the imminence of damage.
With these definitions clear, we can focus on the concept of risk factor's . The notion is used in the field of Health to refer to the fact or circumstance that increase the odds of an individual suffering from a certain problem or contracting a disease.
This means that, as a subject is affected by more risk factors, he or she is more likely to experience a certain disorder: therefore, he or she has a health risk that is greater than the ones they have. people that are far from those factors.
He smoking For example, it is a risk factor that affects the occurrence of multiple diseases. The person who smokes is more likely to suffer a cardiovascular disease than the rest He who smokes, on the other hand, is more likely to suffer esophagus cancer and of lung for the harmful substances that you ingest with tobacco.
It is important to distinguish between a cause and a risk factor. Risk factors are not always the causes of a disease, although they are associated with the event. When taken as a probability that can be measured, risk factors contribute to prediction and prognosis, and therefore working with them is a way of prevention. Taking the previous example, if smoking is a risk factor for cancer, combating cigarettes is a way to prevent the development of cancer tumors.
Types of risk factors
Behavioral risk factors
In general, this type of risk factor is linked to certain actions that the person decides to carry out. For this reason, it is possible to reduce or eliminate them through decisions that affect your conduct or lifestyle In addition to smoking, mentioned above, other behavioral risk factors are: certain nutritional choices, excess alcohol, lack of physical activity, exposure to the sun without sufficient protection, lack of certain vaccines at the ages established by the system of health and sexual intercourse without taking proper precautions.
Physiological risk factors
When the fundamental points are the biology or the organism of the person, we talk about risk factors of physiological type, which sometimes arise as a result of some genetic factors or certain decisions that make the style of life, for example. Some examples are: obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and too high blood sugar.
Demographic Risk Factors
They are all those that relate to the citizens of a certain population, and therefore include the following: gender, work activity, age, salary and religion.
Environmental risk factors
Many different people enter this group, since diverse topics are taken into account, such as politics, culture , the economy and society, which are combined with biological, physical and chemical issues. Among the most common are: occupational hazards, air pollution, lack of access to health services, the social environment.
Genetic risk factors
These risk factors focus on the person's genes, on their genetic makeup, and that is why each individual may have a different degree of predisposition to certain diseases, such as muscular dystrophy or cystic fibrosis. In other cases, such as diabetes or asthma, the factors of environment and genetics, while for diseases such as sickle cell anemia, belonging to certain subgroups of the population greatly increases the odds.
