Hälsofaktor

Hälsofaktor, literally “health factor” in Swedish, denotes any element that influences the health status of an individual or a population. In public health and epidemiology, hälsofaktorer encompass determinants that can increase risk for disease or improve health outcomes, including biological, behavioral, social, environmental, and systemic factors. The concept is often used within the broader framework of social determinants of health (SDOH) and risk assessment.

Categories include: biological factors such as age, sex, and genetic predispositions; behavioral factors such as smoking, physical activity, diet, alcohol use; social factors such as income, education, occupation, social support, discrimination; environmental factors such as air and water quality, housing conditions, neighborhoods; and health system factors such as access to care, quality of care, and health policy. Some hälsofaktorer are modifiable, enabling interventions; others are fixed or less easily changed.

Measurement and analysis rely on epidemiological methods. Researchers estimate associations between factors and health outcomes using study designs like cohort and case-control studies, reporting measures such as relative risks or odds ratios. Composite indices and risk scores aggregate multiple hälsofaktorer to stratify risk or evaluate public health interventions.

Applications of the concept include prioritizing prevention efforts, designing health promotion programs, and evaluating inequities in health. Limitations include the interactions among factors, context-dependence, and challenges in causal inference.

See also: risk factor, protective factor, social determinants of health, epidemiology, health promotion.