Attributable Risk

Attributable risk is the portion of disease in a group that can be linked to a specific exposure, calculated by comparing how often the disease occurs in exposed people versus unexposed people. It estimates how much of the risk is added by the exposure itself. A related figure, the attributable fraction, expresses this as a percentage of cases.

Origin

Attributable risk emerged from mid-20th-century epidemiology, notably in studies of smoking and lung cancer, as researchers sought to quantify how much disease an exposure was responsible for rather than just whether it raised risk.

Significance in Asbestos Context

In asbestos cases, attributable risk helps connect population-level evidence to an individual's disease. Experts use it to argue what share of a disease, such as lung cancer among exposed workers, can be traced to asbestos rather than to other causes like smoking. Defendants often contest these figures, pointing to competing exposures or arguing the numbers don't apply to a specific person. Understanding the difference between population attributable risk and an individual's probability of causation can help you follow the expert reports in your case.

Example Sentence

The epidemiologist testified that, given the worker's exposure history, the attributable risk from asbestos was high enough to satisfy the causation standard.

Related Terms

Probability of Causation, Relative Risk, Attributable Fraction, Causation, Epidemiology, Synergistic Effect

Notes

• Ask your legal team how attributable risk in your case accounts for smoking or other exposures.
• Attributable risk describes groups; the related "probability of causation" is what applies to an individual.
• Preserve a complete occupational and exposure history, since these calculations depend on it.