NUR2790 Professional Nursing III

Module 7 Discussion – Modifiable vs. Unmodifiable Risk Factors

Choose a subject (it can be a former patient, a family member, or yourself) and identify modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors. Identify methods to prevent Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) in the subject. What can you recommend to your classmates subjects?

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Modifiable vs. Unmodifiable Risk

Introduction

Risk is a fundamental part of life, but it’s rarely discussed in terms of its impact on health. Instead, we think about risk as something that can be changed: it’s the lack of modifiable risk factors that leads to disease or illness. But modifiable risk factors—such as age and gender—can also play a role in your health or longevity. This article will explain what those are and how they affect your body’s ability to fight off disease.

Age

You’re never too old to make a difference.

Age is one of the biggest risk factors for cancer, but it’s also something that can be changed over time. As you age, your body becomes more likely to develop certain types of cancer and die from them—but there are things you can do now that will help reduce your risk later in life.

Genetics

You might have heard that genetics plays a role in determining your risk of developing cancer. But what does that mean? Is it true? Your answer will depend on the type of genetic information you’re talking about.

Genetics refers to traits passed from parents to their children, such as eye color or height. Some people believe that if they have certain genes, then their children will also carry those same genes and therefore be at increased risk for developing certain diseases (like cancer). But this isn’t always true: some inherited conditions can be modified by lifestyle choices, like eating a healthy diet and being active. For example, research shows that having low levels of HDL cholesterol may increase one’s risk for heart disease—but it doesn’t mean you’re destined to get sick unless you don’t change your behavior!

Gender

Another factor that can influence your risk of developing a disease is gender. Gender is one of the strongest known risk factors for certain diseases and cancers. In fact, it’s so important that researchers have identified several areas in which men and women differ significantly:

• Men are more likely than women to develop prostate cancer.

• Women have a higher risk than men of developing breast cancer due to hormonal changes during early pregnancy or post-menopause (the years after menopause).

Ethnic origin

Ethnicity is a social construct, race is a biological one. Ethnicity is the label given to groups of people who share similar cultural identities and traditions. For example, African Americans and Asian Americans can be considered ethnic groups because they all have some connection with Africa or Asia (or both).

Race falls under this umbrella as well—it’s simply another way to describe ethnicities in a more specific way. Race refers specifically to someone’s physical features: skin color, hair texture and shape…etc., while ethnicity refers more broadly than just these physical characteristics; it includes things like language spoken at home by an individual’s parents or grandparents before immigrating from their country of origin into America (for example).

These four factors make up unmodifiable risk and can’t be changed.

The four factors that make up unmodifiable risk are:

• Age. The older you are, the less likely you are to get cancer or heart disease. If you’re 40 years old or older, your overall chance of developing cancer is about 2 percent higher than if you were 20 years old.

• Genetics. Genes play a big role in whether or not someone will develop certain diseases like cancer or heart disease later in life—but they can’t predict when it’ll happen! There are many different genes involved with these diseases (and other conditions), so it’s likely that some people have more genetic mutations than others do; this means those who have inherited these mutations may be more likely than average to develop specific diseases later on down the road.”

Conclusion

The takeaway is that there are four factors that make up unmodifiable risk and these can’t be changed. This means you should consider them when thinking about how to prevent cancer from happening in the first place, as well as what treatment(s) would be most effective for your situation.