[Risk as a concept and a challenge in health care]

In epidemiology and preventive medicine, absolute risk, relative risk and population attributable risk are well defined concepts. In research, the relative risks are of great interest, but to make medical decisions it is necessary to assess the risks and benefits in absolute rather than relative terms. Therefore, editors and referees should promote the presentation of absolute risks in medical journals. Critical comments on risk interventions are often of a general nature, and include all risk factors and all actual interventions. To assess the benefits, each disease, each risk, and each intervention has to be handled separately. In the prevention of cardiovascular diseases the effects of several interventions have been documented. The quality of the performance is of great importance, however, when interventions from clinical trials are applied in practical medicine.