When is a disease a "non-disease"?

A recent vote on bmj.com to identify "non-diseases" found almost 200, some of which already appear in official classifications of disease. Smith (p 883) argues that to have your condition labelled as a disease may bring considerable benefit, but the diagnosis may also create problems---you may be denied insurance, a mortgage, and employment. He says that everything is to be gained and nothing lost by raising consciousness about the "slipperiness of the concept of disease."


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Relevant Article

In search of "non-disease"
Richard Smith
BMJ 2002 324: 883-885. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]




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