Risk factors for non communicable diseases

• Risk Factors


  Things that are linked to an increased chance of getting a disease during someone's lifetime
• Risk Factors


  • They don't necessarily cause the disease directly
  • They are often aspects of a person's lifestyle (e.g. how much exercise they do)
  • They can also be the presence of certain substances in the environment (e.g. asbestos)
• Many non-communicable diseases are caused by several different risk factors interacting with each other rather than one factor alone
• Lifestyle factors can have different impacts locally, nationally and globally
• Individual choices affect the local incidence of disease
• Some risk factors can cause a disease directly


  • Drinking too much alcohol can directly cause liver disease
  • Smoking when pregnant can directly cause harm to the baby
• Cancer can be directly caused by exposure to certain substances known as carcinogens
• However, risk factors are identified by correlations in data, and correlation doesn't always mean causation
• Lack of exercise and high fat diet are heavily linked to an increased chance of diseases, but they can't cause the disease directly
• The human cost of non-communicable diseases is obvious - millions of people around the world die from them each year
• The economic cost of treating and managing these diseases is huge for health systems and countries
• Type of risk factor other than an aspect of a person's lifestyle


  • Presence of certain substances in the environment (e.g. asbestos)