News tagged with risk factors
Study finds four new genetic risk factors for testicular cancer
A new study looking at the genomes of more than 13,000 men identified four new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer, the most commonly diagnosed type in young men today. The findings from ...
Genetics
May 12, 2013 |
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Boosting 'cellular garbage disposal' can delay the aging process, research shows
(Medical Xpress)—UCLA life scientists have identified a gene previously implicated in Parkinson's disease that can delay the onset of aging and extend the healthy life span of fruit flies. The research, ...
Genetics
May 06, 2013 |
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Free fatty acids linked to cardiac risk in late adulthood
(HealthDay)—Blood levels of free fatty acids are associated with insulin resistance during young adulthood and cardiovascular risk factors in later adulthood, according to a study published online May 13 ...
Cardiology
May 17, 2013 |
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Repeat brain injury raises soldiers' suicide risk, study shows
People in the military who suffer more than one mild traumatic brain injury face a significantly higher risk of suicide, according to research by the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah.
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 15, 2013 |
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Body fat hardens arteries after middle age
Having too much body fat makes arteries become stiff after middle age, a new study has revealed.
Cardiology
May 15, 2013 |
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Study sees link between mom's flu, bipolar risk for children
(HealthDay)—Women who come down with the flu during pregnancy may be at increased risk of having a child who develops bipolar disorder, a new study suggests.
Psychology & Psychiatry
May 08, 2013 |
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Research suggests link between elevated blood sugar, Alzheimer's risk
(Medical Xpress)—A new University of Arizona study, published in the journal Neurology, suggests a possible link between elevated blood sugar levels and risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease & dementia
May 06, 2013 |
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No link between anesthesia, dementia in elderly
Elderly patients who receive anesthesia are no more likely to develop long-term dementia or Alzheimer's disease than other seniors, according to new Mayo Clinic research. The study analyzed thousands of patients using the ...
Alzheimer's disease & dementia
May 01, 2013 |
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Risk of depression influenced by quality of relationships, research says
The mantra that quality is more important than quantity is true when considering how social relationships influence depression, say U-M researchers in a new study.
Psychology & Psychiatry
Apr 30, 2013 |
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Teen years may be critical in later stroke risk, research finds
The teenage years may be a key period of vulnerability related to living in the "stroke belt" when it comes to future stroke risk, according to a new study published in the April 24, 2013, online issue of Neurology.
Neuroscience
Apr 24, 2013 |
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Scientists advance understanding of human brown adipose tissue and grow new cells (w/ Video)
Joslin scientists report significant findings about the location, genetic expression and function of human brown adipose tissue (BAT) and the generation of new BAT cells. These findings, which appear in the April 2013 issue ...
Medical research
Apr 22, 2013 |
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Discovery of new genes will help childhood arthritis treatment
(Medical Xpress)—Scientists from The University of Manchester have identified 14 new genes which could have important consequences for future treatments of childhood arthritis.
Arthritis & Rheumatism
Apr 22, 2013 |
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Study suggests reduced risk of dementia
(Medical Xpress)—A new Swedish study published in the journal Neurology shows that the risk of developing dementia may have declined over the past 20 years, in direct contrast to what many previously assumed. The result ...
Neuroscience
Apr 19, 2013 |
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Risk factor for depression can be 'contagious'
A new study with college roommates shows that a particular style of thinking that makes people vulnerable to depression can actually "rub off" on others, increasing their symptoms of depression six months later.
Psychology & Psychiatry
Apr 18, 2013 |
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Massive study closes in on cancers risk markers
Cancer research has taken a huge leap forward with scientists now able to identify more than 80 genetic markers found to increase the risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. The COGS international research ...
Genetics
May 15, 2013 |
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Risk factor
A 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.
