The relating of causes to the effects they produce. Causes are termed necessary when they must always precede an effect and sufficient when they initiate or produce an effect. Any of several factors may be associated with the potential disease causation or outcome, including predisposing factors, enabling factors, precipitating factors, reinforcing factors, and risk factors.

Annotation

an epidemiological concept: do not confuse with the cause of a disease ( = /etiol); IM general only; coordinate NIM with disease /epidemiol, not /etiol

DUI

D015984 MeSH Browser

CUI

M0024428

Previous indexing

Risk (1966-1989); specific disease/epidemiology (1966-1989); specific disease/etiology (1966-1989)

History note

90

Public note

90