Condition of being easily affected by a disease-causing organism; condition of being more than normally vulnerable.
The state of being receptive to infection or disease.
A person’s receptivity to disease or infection. Susceptibility is influenced by several general human characteristics, such as the ability of the person’s immune system to respond to specific pathogens that a person may make or be exposed to. Age, sex, ethnic group, and heredity also have important roles in a person’s susceptibility. Diet, personal hygiene, and other cultural behaviors can be involved, as can geographic and environmental conditions. The general health status of a person, including his or her level of nutrition, amount of physical activity, and the state of hormonal balance (for example, not having any hormonal abnormalities), can influence susceptibility to disease. The presence of disease or other debilitating conditions, including impaired immunity, is also a factor.
The likelihood of becoming ill in terms of resistance or immunity to disease. It is partly a reflection of general health but is also influenced by vaccination or other methods of increasing resistance to specific diseases.
A reduced ability to combat an illness, usually an infection. The patient may be in poor general health, or immunization or disease may have affected his or her defence mechanisms. For example, a person with AIDS is particularly susceptible to infection.
The degree to which a person is prone to disease or persuasion.