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Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Bias, Causation and Data Analysis

Risk factor

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

/ˈrɪsk ˌfæktə/nounCore term

In public health & epidemiology, risk factor means: A characteristic, behaviour or exposure that increases the chance of developing a disease or health problem, such as smoking, high blood pressure or poor housing.

In Turkish: risk etmeni, risk faktörü

How it is used

Central to chronic disease work. Some risk factors are modifiable (diet, alcohol, inactivity) and some are not (age, sex, family history). Researchers identify risk factors and programmes target them. The opposite is a protective factor.

Example sentences

  1. Smoking remains the most important preventable risk factor for lung cancer.

  2. We looked for risk factors associated with severe illness in older adults.

Common collocations

  • modifiable risk factor
  • major risk factor
  • behavioural risk factors
  • identify risk factors
  • a risk factor for
  • exposureContact with or experience of something that may affect health, such as a germ, a chemical, tobacco smoke, a type of diet or a particular job.
  • associationA statistical link between an exposure and an outcome, meaning they occur together more or less often than chance would predict, whether or not one causes the other.
  • relative riskThe risk of an outcome in an exposed group divided by the risk in an unexposed group; a value of 2 means the exposed group has twice the risk.
  • noncommunicable diseaseA long-lasting illness that is not passed from person to person, such as heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease or diabetes.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Bias, Causation and Data Analysis

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.