Host factor
Host factor is a medical term referring to the traits of an individual person or animal that affect susceptibility to disease, especially in comparison to other individuals. The term arose in the context of infectious disease research, in contrast to "organism factors", such as the virulence and infectivity of a microbe. Host factors that may vary in a population and affect disease susceptibility can be innate or acquired.
Some examples:
- general health
- psychological characteristics and attitude
- nutritional state
- social ties
- previous exposure to the organism or related antigens
- haplotype or other specific genetic differences of immune function
- substance abuse
- race
The term is now used in oncology and many other medical contexts related to individual differences of disease vulnerability.
See also
References
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.