Predisposing factors Definition and Examples - Biology Online

Predisposing factors are the conditions and activities that can lead to the development of disease within a living organism. SkiptocontentMainNavigationSearchDictionaryArticlesTutorialsBiologyForumPredisposingfactorssn.,plural:predisposingfactorsDefinition:factor(s)thatrender(s)anindividualvulnerabletoadiseaseordisorderTableofContentsPredisposingFactorsDefinitionPredisposingFactorsExamplesCervicalCancerDiabetesAsthmaQuizSendYourResults(Optional)ReferencesAllorganismscanbebornwithordevelopadiseaseatanypointintheirlifetime.Whensomeoneisbornwithadisease,itusuallyisaccompaniedbyallailmentsthatcomewithadisease.Whenadiseasedevelopsduringaperson’slife,itcanappearwithnosigns,warnings,orsymptoms.Ontheotherhand,diseasesmayhavepredisposingfactorsthatindicatetheymightaffectanindividualsoon.Butwhatisapredisposingfactor?Letusdefinepredisposingfactorsbelow.PredisposingFactorsDefinitionPredisposingfactorsaretheriskfactorsthatmakeapersonmoresusceptibletodevelopingadisease.Itshouldnotbeconfusedwithprecipitatingfactors.Althoughtheyseemthesame,theyaretwodifferentterms.Predisposingfactorsofthediseasearethosefactorsthatmayleadtodiseaseandprecipitatingfactorsarethosethatcreatetheonsetofthedisease(orinitiatethedisease).Sopredisposingfactorscanleadtodiseasebutarenotguaranteedtodoso,whereasprecipitatingfactorswillbethebeginningofadisease.Figure1.Showingpredisposingfactorsofmultiplediseases.ImageSource:MariaVictoriaGonzagaofBiologyOnline.Predisposingfactorsincludepredisposingcharacteristicsandpredisposingconditions.Predisposingcharacteristicsarethosefactorsthatarebasedonthesocialanddemographicfactorsofapublicthathaveamajoreffectontheirhealth,illnesses,andhowtheywillaccepttreatment.Thepredisposingconditionsarebasicallythesameasthepredisposingfactorsastheyarethoseconditionsthatgivewaytothedevelopmentofdisease.Biologydefinition:Predisposingfactorsarefactorsthatcanleadtothedevelopmentofthedisease.Itisoneofthe4Ps ofthe BiopsychosocialFormulation,whichisusedforunderstandingthehealthconditionofanindividual.Inordertounderstandthepresenceofthedisease,variousfactorsarelookedinto,suchaspredisposingfactors,precipitatingfactors, perpetuatingfactors,and protectivefactors.Understandingtheseaspectsenablesthemedicalpractitionerinformulatingconclusionsandhypotheses.READ:4PsandtheBiopsychosocialFormulationPredisposingFactorsExamplesAlldiseasesthatcanbedevelopedwillconsistofpredisposingfactorsthateithercancauseorwillcausethediseaseeventually.Somepredisposingfactorsforthefollowingdiseaseswillbediscussed:CervicalCancerDiabetesAsthmaCervicalCancerFigure2.Showingsomeofthepredisposingfactorsofcervicalcancer.ImageCredit:verywellhealth.comCervicalcancerorcanceroftheuterinecervixisaverycommonillnessinwomenespeciallythoseoffertilityage.Thousandsofwomenarediagnosedwiththisdiseaseeveryyearandmanyoutofthatgroupsuccumbtothesymptomsofthedisease.Therearemanyknownriskfactorsorpredisposingfactorsthatcanleadtowomendevelopinguterinecancer:HumanPapillomavirus(HPV)–HumanpapillomavirusalsoknownasHPVisasexuallytransmitteddiseasethatisoftenrelatedtothedevelopmentofcervicalcancer.However,HPVhasbeenassociatedwithagroupofvirusesthatarecarcinogens,andHPV-16,aswellasHPV-18,causesthemajorityofcervicalcancerandthelesionsthatareprecanceroustoo.Humanimmunodeficiencyvirus(HIV)–theinfectionbetterknownasHIVhasbeenheavilylinkedtowomenhavingahigherchanceofdevelopingcervicalcancer.ThisisbecauseHIVsuppressestheimmunesystemoftheperson,makingthemmoresusceptibletoharmfuldiseasessuchascancer.Smoking–smokingormorespecificallytobaccohasbeenlinkedtothedevelopmentofcanceroftheuterinecervixinwomen.Thishasbeenattributedtothetobaccoandtobaccoby-productsdamagingtheDNAofthesmokerandalsosuppressingtheirimmunesystemandimmuneresponse.ThismakesfemalesmokersmoresusceptibletoPHVinfections.Diethylstilbestrol(DES)–DESwasgiventowomenasamedicationthatwasanestrogenformusedtotreatconditionsthroughoutpregnancy.Thiswasmainlyusedinthemid-1900s,specificallybetween1940and1971.Sadly,whenthedaughtersofthewomenwhotookDESwhilepregnantwereborn,theywerefoundtobeatamuchgreaterriskofdevelopingcervicalcancer.IfthesedaughterswereexposedtoHPV,theirriskofdevelopingcervicalcancerwouldincreaseevenmore.DiabetesFigure3.Showingsomeofthepredisposingfactorsofdiabetes.ImageCredit: LivingDiabetes.comDiabetesisoneofthemostcommon,non-communicablediseasesthataffectthehumanrace.Thisdiseasechangesthewaythatyourbodyusesthefoodyouconsumeandformsenergywithit.Usually,thefoodconsumedisdigestedandturnedintosugarsthatthebodywillabsorbintothebloodstreamanduseasenergy.Whenthereisasaturatedamountofsugarinyourbloodstream,thebodyaltersthepancreasanditwillreleaseinsulin.Theinsulinhelpsthebloodsugartoeitherbestoredintheliverorbeusedatagreaterrate.Withdiabetics,thebodyusuallyhassomeissuewithinsulin–whetheritdoesnotproduceenoughorcannotproduceatall.Therearethreemaintypesofdiabetesandtheyallhavedifferentpredisposingfactors:Type1Diabetes–Thistypeofdiabetesisassumedtobetheresultofanautoimmuneresponsebythebodytowardssugar.Therearetwomainpredisposingfactorsoftype1diabetes:Familyhistory–ifoneormoremembersofaperson’sfamilyhavetype1diabetes,theyhaveahigherriskofdevelopingthedisease.Age–type1diabetesismorelikelytodevelopwhenapersonisachildorteenagerversusanadult.However,thediseasecanbedevelopedatanyage.Type2diabetes–Type2diabetesusuallycomesaboutastheresultofanexcessamountofsugarsconsumedbyaperson.Thisresultsinthepancreasnotbeingabletomakeenoughinsulintomanagethesugarlevelsofthebody.Therearemanypredisposingfactorsoftype2diabetes:Prediabetics–Personswhohavebeendiagnosedtobeprediabetic.Bodysize–Personswhoareoverweightorobese.Age–Personsbeyondtheageof45andolder.Asthebodygetsolder,theorgansarelessefficient.Familyhistory–personswithotherclosefamilymemberswhohavealreadybeendiagnosedwithtype2diabetessuchasasiblingorparent.Physicalactivity–thelackofphysicalactivitycanincreasetherisksofdevelopingtype2diabetes.Personswhoarenotphysicallyactiveatleast3timesaweekormorelikelytodevelopthedisease.Gestationaldiabetes–Womenwhohavebeendiagnosedwithgestationaldiabetesduringanyoftheirpregnancieshaveahighchanceofdevelopingtype2diabetes.Womenwhosebabieshaveweighedover9poundsarealsopredisposedtodevelopingtype2diabetes.Race/ethnicity–PersonsofAfricanAmericandescent,Hispanic/LatinoAmericanancestry,AmericanIndiandescent,AlaskaNative,andsomePacificIslandersandAsianAmericandescentsareatagreaterriskofdevelopingdiabetes.Gestationaldiabetes–Thistypeofdiabetesisspecifictopregnantwomenwhodevelopdiabeticproblemsduringtheirpregnancy/pregnancies.Somemayonlyhavethediseaseduringtheirtimepregnantwhileothersmaygoontodeveloptype2diabetesaftertheygivebirth.Someofthepredisposingfactorsofgestationaldiabetesare:Previousgestationaldiabetes–pregnantwomenwhohavebeenpreviouslydiagnosedwithgestationaldiabetesinpregnancybefore.Babysize–Pregnantwomenwhohavepreviouslygivenbirthtoababyorbabiesthatareover9poundsinweight.Bodysize–Pregnantwomenwhoareoverweightorobese.Age–Pregnantwomenwhoareovertheageof25aremoresusceptibletodevelopinggestationaldiabetesFamilyhistory–personswithotherclosefamilymemberswhohavealreadybeendiagnosedwithtype2diabetessuchasasiblingorparent.PCOS–Pregnantwomenwhohavebeenpreviouslydiagnosedwithpolycysticovarysyndrome(PCOS),ahormonaldisorder.Race/ethnicity–PersonsofAfricanAmericandescent,Hispanic/LatinoAmericanancestry,AmericanIndiandescent,AlaskaNative,andsomePacificIslandersandAsianAmericandescentsareatagreaterriskofdevelopingdiabetes.AsthmaAsthmaticsorpersonswithasthmahaveachroniclungdiseasethataffectstheirabilitytobreathe.Thisisusuallycausedbytheinflammationofthelungs,bronchus,andotherpassagesoftherespiratorysystem.Therearemanypredisposingfactorsthatcanleadtoasthma:Familyhistory–otherimmediatefamilymembershavingasthmaputssomeoneatamuchgreaterriskofdevelopingthelungdisease.ViralRespiratoryinfections(VRI)–personswhocontractedorhadVRIsduringtheirchildhoodaremoresusceptibletodevelopingasthmaasthesecancausewheezing.Allergies–allergicconditionsaremajorpredisposingfactorsthatleadtoasthma.Thesecanbeconditionslikeeczemaorhayfever.Workplaceexposures–Certainoccupationalhazardscanoftenbethecauseofthedevelopmentofasthmainadults.Thesemaybeitemslike(andarenotlimitedto)chemicalfumes/vapors,molds,anddust.Smoking–Smokersandpersonsexposedtosecond-handsmokeareatagreaterriskofdevelopingasthmaascigarettesmokecausestheirritationofairways.Watchanotherexamplehere:riskfactorsfordepression. Trytoanswerthequizbelowtocheckwhatyouhavelearnedsofaraboutpredisposingfactors.QuizChoosethebestanswer. 1.Predisposingfactorsarefactorsthat...makeapersonmoresusceptibletodevelopingadiseasemakeapersonlesssusceptibletodevelopingadiseasemakeapersonnotsusceptibletodevelopingadisease2.FactorsthatcreatetheonsetofadiseasePredisposingfactorsPrecipitatingfactorsProtectivefactors3.FactorsthathelppreventthedevelopmentofadiseasePredisposingfactorsPrecipitatingfactorsProtectivefactors4.PredisposingfactorthatcanleadtowomendevelopinguterinecancerHPVinfectionDevelopmentofcancercellsintheuterusAvoidingsmoking5.PredisposingfactorofdiabetesChronichighbloodsugarlevelFamilyhistorywithtype2diabetesEatinghealthywell-balanceddietSendYourResults(Optional)YourNameToEmailTimeisUp!ReferencesPredisposingFactors/RiskFactors.(n.d.).RetrievedDecember26,2021,fromhttp://www.bccancer.bc.ca/books/uterine-cervix/predisposing-factors-risk-factorsCDC.(2021,April23).DiabetesRiskFactors.CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/risk-factors.htmlLilienthal,K.,Possemato,K.,Funderburk,J.,Wade,M.,Eaker,A.,&Beehler,G.P.(2017).PredisposingCharacteristics,EnablingFactors,andNeedasPredictorsofIntegratedBehavioralHealthUtilization.TheJournalofBehavioralHealthServices&Research,44(2),263–273.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-016-9496-9LungCancerRiskFactors|Smoking&LungCancer.(n.d.).RetrievedDecember26,2021,fromhttps://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-factors.htmlPrecipitatingfactors.(2019,October7).BiologyArticles,Tutorials&DictionaryOnline.https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/precipitating-factors©BiologyOnline.com.ContentprovidedandmoderatedbyBiologyOnlineEditors.LastupdatedonFebruary15th,2022Youwillalsolike...TypesandCausesofBrainDamageThistutorialdescribe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