Which constitutional risk factor accounts for a smaller percentage of atherosclerosis cases than age and gender?

• A. Smoking
• B. Hypertension
• C. Obesity
• D. Genetics

Answer: (D)

The main idea is how different factors contribute to atherosclerosis across a population, with age and sex as the strongest nonmodifiable drivers. While genetic predisposition clearly influences individual risk, it affects a smaller portion of cases overall compared with the baseline risk added by aging and the sex-based differences in risk. In other words, many people develop disease largely because they get older and, depending on their sex, have a higher baseline risk, whereas genetics pushes risk up in a subset of individuals rather than driving most cases. The other factors listed are important but are modifiable lifestyle or physiological risks, not the inherent, nonmodifiable contributors described here.