Editing Risk factor (section)

==Correlation vs causation==
Risk factors or determinants are [[correlation]]al and not necessarily [[Causality|causal]], because [[correlation does not prove causation]].  For example, being young cannot be said to cause [[measles]], but young people have a higher rate of measles because they are less likely to have developed [[immunity (medical)|immunity]] during a previous epidemic. [[Statistics|Statistical]] methods are frequently used to assess the strength of an association and to provide causal evidence, for example in the [[British doctors study|study]] of the link between smoking and [[lung cancer]]. Statistical  analysis along with the biological sciences can establish that risk factors are causal.  Some prefer the term risk factor to mean causal determinants of increased rates of disease, and for unproven links to be called possible risks, associations, etc.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

When done thoughtfully and based on research, identification of risk factors can be a strategy for [[Screening (medicine)|medical screening]].<ref name="WaldHackshaw1999">{{cite journal|last1=Wald|first1=N. J.|last2=Hackshaw|first2=A. K.|last3=Frost|first3=C. D.|title=When can a risk factor be used as a worthwhile screening test?|journal=BMJ|volume=319|issue=7224|year=1999|pages=1562–1565|issn=0959-8138|doi=10.1136/bmj.319.7224.1562|pmc=1117271|pmid=10591726}}</ref>