Identify Risk Factors
Use patient evidence to identify risk factors without overclaiming.
- Sign vs. symptom: Clinical data mixes measured findings with patient-reported history.
- Normal range comparison: Students need a reference range or baseline to tell whether a value is concerning.
Prerequisites are inferred: pending teacher review.
Re-learn the skill with worked practice and clear examples.
Sort risk factors into modifiable (can be changed) and non-modifiable (cannot be changed).
| Factor | Type |
|---|---|
| Smoking | Modifiable |
| Family history of heart disease | Non-modifiable |
| Lack of exercise | Modifiable |
| Age | Non-modifiable |
Using the table, which risk factor is NON-MODIFIABLE (cannot be changed)?
Reviewed| Factor | Type |
|---|---|
| Smoking | Modifiable |
| Family history of heart disease | Non-modifiable |
| Lack of exercise | Modifiable |
| Age | Non-modifiable |
- A.Sitting most of the day with no exercise
- B.Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day
- C.Family history of heart disease
- D.Eating high-salt fast food most days
Show the worked solution ▾
Answer: C. Family history of heart disease
- Step 1: Find the non-modifiable rows: The table marks family history and age as non-modifiable.
- Step 2: Match the choice: Family history is listed as non-modifiable.
Why it's right: The table labels family history of heart disease as non-modifiable because a person cannot change their genes.
- A: The table labels lack of exercise as modifiable.
- B: The table labels smoking as modifiable because it is a habit.
- D: Diet is a habit that can be changed, so it is modifiable.
Aligned to Biotechnology Research and Experiments · reading level ~grade 9
A chart lists daily walking, a family history of stroke, and a 20-year smoking habit. Which item LOWERS risk rather than raising it?
Reviewed- A.Daily walking, which is a protective habit
- B.None of them, because all three raise risk
- C.A family history of stroke, which cannot be changed
- D.A 20-year smoking habit, which is modifiable
Show the worked solution ▾
Answer: A. Daily walking, which is a protective habit
- Step 1: Sort each item by direction: Ask whether each one makes disease more likely or less likely.
- Step 2: Find the one that points down: Regular activity lowers the chance of heart and vessel disease, so it is protective.
Why it's right: Regular physical activity lowers the chance of cardiovascular disease, which makes it a protective factor rather than a risk factor.
- B: One of the three points the other way, so this is not true.
- C: Family history raises risk and it cannot be changed, so it is a non-modifiable risk factor.
- D: Smoking raises risk. It is modifiable, but modifiable is not the same as protective.
Aligned to Biotechnology Research and Experiments · reading level ~grade 9
- A clinician sorts a patient's risk factors to see which ones the patient can act on.
Fill these in as you work through the lesson.
- Risk factor (something that raises the chance of disease):
- Modifiable (can be changed):
- Non-modifiable (cannot be changed):
- Symptom (what the patient feels now):
A risk factor raises the of disease; it can be or non-modifiable, and it is not the same as a symptom.
- Which item raises the chance of disease?
- Can this risk factor be changed?
- Is this a risk factor or a symptom?
Read the risk-factor table and sort each factor into modifiable or non-modifiable.