What does a relative risk greater than one indicate?

A relative risk greater than one indicates an increased risk of disease associated with a certain exposure. In epidemiology, relative risk is a measure used to compare the risk of a health outcome (such as a disease) in two different groups. When the relative risk is calculated, a value of one means there is no difference in risk between the exposed and unexposed groups. Values greater than one suggest that the exposure is linked to a higher probability of developing the disease, pointing towards a positive association between the exposure and the outcome. Therefore, a relative risk greater than one serves as an indication that the specific exposure could be a contributing factor in increasing the likelihood of the disease occurring.