Doc Fio

Nearly all disease have risks factors.

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Having risks factor do not mean  that you have the disease, but it means that you have greater chance to develop the disease. 

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A risk factor is a characteristic, condition, or behaviour that increases the likelihood of getting a disease or injury. 

To detect our risk factor and do intervention are two susbatantial ways to prevent getting sick/ disease.

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There  are Two main group of disease ; one is called Non communicable diseases / NCDs and another one is Communicable diseases/ CDs

These two group of disease are majorly different in terms of the cause.

Communicable disease is related to disease transmission and non communicable certainly is not transmitted from one to another. 

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Research studies have shown the link between NCDs, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and certain risk factors.The basis of NCD prevention is the identification of the major common risk factors and their prevention and control. A risk factor refers to any attribute, characteristic or exposure of an individual, which increases the likelihood of developing NCD.

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In general, risk factors can be categorised into the following groups:

• Behavioural

• Physiological

• Demographic

• Environmental

• Genetic

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Types of risk factors

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1. Behavioural risk factors

Behavioural risk factors usually relate to ‘actions’ that the individual has chosen to take. They can therefore be eliminated or reduced through lifestyle or behavioural choices. Examples include:

• smoking tobacco

• drinking too much alcohol

• nutritional choices

• physical inactivity

• spending too much time in the sun without proper protection

• not having certain vaccinations

• unprotected sex.

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2. Psychological risk factors

Physiological risk factors are those relating to an individual’s body or biology.

They may be influenced by a combination of genetic, lifestyle and other broad factors.

Examples include:

• being overweight or obese

• high blood pressure

• high blood cholesterol

• high blood sugar (glucose).

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3. Demographic risk factors

Demographic risk factors are those that relate to the overall population. Examples include:

• age

• gender

• population subgroups, such as occupation, religion, or income.

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4. Environmental risk factors

Environmental risk factors cover a wide range of topics such as social, economic, cultural and political factors as well as physical, chemical and biological factors. Examples include:

• access to clean water and sanitation

• risks in the workplace

• air pollution

• social settings.

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5. Genetic risk factors

Genetic risk factors are based on an individual’s genes. Some diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy, come entirely from an individual’s ‘genetic make-up’. Many other diseases, such as asthma or diabetes, reflect the interaction between the genes of the individual and environmental factors. Other diseases, like sickle cell anaemia, are more prevalent in certain population subgroups.

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To detect whether you have risks or not you need to educate your self about it, seek for valid and public-friendly information, and after that you ought to discuss it with your doctor, could be your family doctor, he/ she would conduct risks factor assessment, physical examination (blood pressure, body weight / BMI measurement, etc), and most probably run some screening tests and based on the result, there would be some medical suggestion, such as life style changes recommendation or possibly a medication. 

Educate yourself and view more in Health Education page.

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It is strongly advised that after your risk factors are detected you must do some intervention, because the good news is that both NCDs and CDs are preventable. Risks Factor intervention would be described in Health Risk Intervention page.