What do we mean by "modifiable?"
"Modifiable" means things that may be changed – by individuals or by society - and if they were changed then improvements in functioning or quality of life may be possible.
What do we mean by “risk factors?”
A “risk factor” is something that increases the chance for an outcome to occur. For example, it could be something in the environment (like high levels of air pollution) or an illness (like rubella) that is linked to a higher chance for a particular outcome, like a baby being born too soon. On the flip side, we also talk about “protective factors” which are things that are linked to a lower chance for an outcome, like taking folic acid around the beginning of pregnancy lowers the chance a baby will have serious birth defects.