[Risk assessment in preventive medicine].
The aim of this article is to present and discuss the value of risk analysis in preventive medicine. Risk analysis consists of three major areas; risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. Risk analysis is illustrated here by two examples: exposure to radon and the risk of lung cancer, and infection with toxoplasma gondii in pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcome. The analyses highlight the complementary elements of scientific judgement and political valuation. The barriers against implementation of preventive measures are many. Adequate risk assessment and consequence analysis based on empirical studies, together with risk communication are important for implementing the correct measures. We suggest that risk analysis should be used more often in medicine as a tool for systematic evaluation of the need and usefulness of preventive measures.
Magnus
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Seksjon for epidemiologi, Statens institutt for folkehelse, Torshov, Oslo.
Eskild
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D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011315:Preventive Medicine; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012308:Risk Management