Anticipating diseases is highly important in the current environment. Today we are exposed to all kinds of toxic substances that make us extremely vulnerable even if there are no other hazards such as epidemics or genetic factors. To predict health risks of humans that live in a particular environment and eat a specific food, the method of health risk assessment is used. The contaminated environment may cause both immediate and remote consequences to public health, and most people want to know their chances for a healthy future. HRAs are a part of Medicare annual health check aimed at improving the wellness of senior citizens. They are also used in Medicaid to identify the issues that require urgent attention of physicians.
The procedure of health risk assessment is performed in 4 stages. The first one is an identification of a hazard. It defines whether the exposure to any particular chemical can do harm to the human body. Different chemicals may affect different organs, besides, some of them have higher chances of developing hereditary mutations while the other typically lead to tumors. The next step is a dose-response assessment that discovers the severity of health consequences according to the dose of a toxic substance. Knowing the time span of the exposure, physicians calculate the dose and possible risks. The third stage is an exposure assessment; it calculates the risk according to frequency and duration of exposure to chemicals. As all the necessary information is collected, a physician provides their risk characterization of an individual lifestyle. Results may be delivered in mail or face-to-face, nevertheless, online assessment is the most popular at the moment.