Smoking is among the risk factors for different types of cancer.
A factor is an element that acts in conjunction with others. The idea of risk , for its part, refers to the proximity or imminence of damage.
With these definitions clear, we can focus on the concept of risk factors . The notion is used in the field of health to refer to the fact or circumstance that increases the likelihood that an individual will suffer a certain problem or contract a disease.
Health in danger
This means that, as a subject is affected by more risk factors, it is more likely that he or she will experience a certain disorder: therefore, he or she has a higher health risk than that of people who are far from those factors. .
Smoking , for example, is a risk factor that affects the appearance of multiple diseases. The person who smokes is more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease than the rest. Those who smoke, on the other hand, are more likely to suffer from esophageal and lung cancer due to the harmful substances they ingest with tobacco.
Difference between risk factors and causes of diseases
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 that is why working with them is a way of prevention. Returning to the previous example, if smoking is a risk factor for cancer, fighting cigarettes is a way to prevent the development of cancerous tumors.
Frequent consumption of junk food is a risk factor for health.
Harmful behaviors
Generally, this type of risk factors 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 behavior 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. health and sexual relations without taking adequate precautions.
Physiological risk factors
When the fundamental points are the biology or the person's organism, we talk about physiological risk factors, which sometimes arise as a consequence of some genetic factors or certain lifestyle decisions, for example.
Some examples are: obesity , high cholesterol , high blood pressure, and too high blood sugar.
Demographics and environment
Demographic risk factors are all those that are related to citizens of a certain population, and therefore include the following: gender, work activity, age, salary and religion.
Many different environmental risk factors fall into the group, since diverse topics such as politics, culture , economy and society are taken into account, which are combined with biological, physical and chemical issues. Among the most common we have: occupational risks, air pollution, lack of access to health services, and 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, environmental and genetic factors must be taken into account, while for diseases such as sickle cell anemia, belonging to certain subgroups of the population considerably increases the odds.