By "non-disease" we mean "a human process or problem that some have defined as a medical condition but where people may have better outcomes if the problem or process was not defined in that way."

After asking readers to suggest non-diseases, we invited them to vote for the 10 conditions that best fitted our definition.

Here are the results of that ballot, in which 570 people voted.
(Duplicate votes were removed).

Condition	Votes	Proportion of voters who voted for this condition (%)
Ageing	251	44
Work	199	35
Boredom	184	32
Bags under eyes	177	31
Ignorance	162	28
Baldness	161	28
Freckles	153	27
Big ears	149	26
Grey or white hair	143	25
Ugliness	138	24
Childbirth	130	23
Allergy to the twentieth century	123	22
Jet lag	115	20
Unhappiness	110	19
Cellulite	108	19
Hangover	108	19
Anxiety about penis size/penis envy	104	18
Pregnancy	102	18
Road rage	101	18
Loneliness	99	17
Air rage	92	16
Gap teeth	92	16
Circumcision	89	16
Domestic violence	77	14
Menopause	76	13
Burnout	73
Chronic fatigue syndrome/Myalgic encephalomyelitis	72
Smoking	70	12
Skin wrinkles	65	11
Non-compliance	64
Stretch marks	64
Procrastination	63
Short stature	62
Ear wax accumulation	61
Bereavement (including grief reaction)	59	10
Nailchewing	55
Teething	55
Adjustment reactions	53	9
False memory syndrome	53
Teenage pregnancy	51
Dandruff	48	8
Hypercholesterolaemia	48
Obesity	47
Fibromyalgia	46
Transvestism	45
Attention deficit disorder	43
Stress	43
Total allergy syndrome	43
Trans-sexualism	41	7
Conduct disorders in children	38
Whiplash	34	6
Borborygmi	33
Chinese restaurant syndrome	32
Gulf War syndrome	32
Premenstrual syndrome	32
Peri-menstrual dysphoric disorder	29	5
Minor skeletal variations (eg flat feet)	25	4
Multiple chemical sensitivities	25
Sick building syndrome	25
Alcohol dependency	23
Anorgasmia	23
Chronic candida infection	23
Food intolerance (including lactose intolerance)	22
Personality disorder	22
Erectile dysfunction/impotence	21
Halitosis	21
Infertility	21
Most allergies	21
Skin tags	21
Bed wetting	20
Social phobia including shyness	20
Colic/wind	19	3
Seasonal affective disorder	19
Hysteria	18
Lice infestation	18
Acne	17
Irritable bowel syndrome	17
Low/absent libido	17
Munchausen syndrome by proxy	17
Pain	17
Tight foreskin in boys	17
Tongue tie	17
Hyperactivity	16
Motion sickness	16
Substance abuse (including drug addiction)	16
Anorexia	15
Deviation of the nasal septum	15
Disability	15
Dyslexia	15
Teeth grinding	15
Depression	14	2
Fever	14
Solasis (delusional belief that sun is causing skin problems)	14
Tension headache	14
Fibrocystic disease of the breast	13
Insomnia	13
Anxiety disorders	12
Fibrositis	12
Neurasthenia	12
Oedipus complex and complexes generally	12
Post traumatic stress disorder	12
Diabetes	11
Ejaculatory disorders	11
Hypertension	11
Munchausen's syndrome	11
Osteoporosis	10
Repetitive strain disorder	10
Syndrome X	10
Tics (habit spasms)	10
Atypical chest pain	9
Brain death	9
Constipation	9
Ingrown toe nail	9
Low bone mineral density	9
Somatisation disorders	9
Vegetative state	9
Cough	8	1
Food poisoning	8
Hirsutism	8
Low back pain	8
Miscarriage	8
Polycystic ovarian syndrome	8
Specific learning disorders	8
Temperomandibular dysfunction syndrome	8
Tonsillar enlargement	8
Astigmatism	7
Chronic glandular fever	7
Dysfunctional uterine bleeding	7
Frozen shoulder	7
Hypotension	7
Phantom limb	7
Restless legs syndrome	7
Warts	7
Autism syndromes	6
Autistic enterocolitis	6
Benign prostatic hyperplasia	6
Hypoglycaemia	6
Impacted teeth	6
Malnutrition/hunger	6
Myopia	6
Nausea and vomiting	6
Phobias	6
Positive cervical smear	6
Dementia	5
Glue ear	5
Hallucinations	5
Iron deficiency	5
Sleep apnoea	5
Atypical facial pain	4
Calcium deficiency	4
Endometriosis	4
Mitral valve prolapse	4
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy	4
Rosacea	4
Diarrhoea	3
Dizziness/vertigo	3
Non-ulcer dyspepsia	3
Haemorrhoids	3
Hyperhidrosis (profuse sweating)	3
Hypertrichosis	3
Migraine	3
Faint/syncope	2	0
Onychomycosis	2
Varicose veins	2
Mania	1
Raised intracranial pressure	1
Senile cataract	1
Skin rash	1
Tendonitis	1
Tinnitus	1
Pruritis	0
Senile osteoarthritis	0
Sinusitis/post nasal drip	0
Tonsillitis	0

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Dodgy to say the least

Kieran E Fallon
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Peri-menstrual Dysphoric Disorder

Marvin K Malek
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Additional non-disease

Hans R. Koelz
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non-diseases

Caroline Richmond
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Possible non-diseases

George B. Alcorn
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Raised cholesterol levels - a non disease

Malcolm E Kendrick
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Bereavement

Om Prakash
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

non-disease apostasy

Dale Archer
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

What is a Disease / Complaint?

Lonnie J Perry
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Reconsidering Cholesterol and Atherosclerosis

Eric S. Freedland ,MD
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Society's stigma spells DISEASE

Dr Rani Pal
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non-disease

Mathai Babu
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non-disease if doctor recognize physiological deterministic chaos.

Stagnaro Sergio
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Diastema

Chinelo E Nwokolo
bmj.com, 15 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Time warps perception

Susan J Wighton
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

A non disease

Clare O'Connor
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non-diseases

douglas n salmon
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

How to use an esteemed medical journal to increase suffering

Margaret Bailey
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non-diseases

Joel M. Kauffman
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Lactose intolerance, ignorance, noncompliance

Myrna Y. Munar, Pharm.D.
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Raised cholesterol levels - a non disease

Gunnar Lindgren
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

menopause and pregnancy

Jo A Rosenfeld
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Solatic

Jeffrey D Bernhard
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non disease

Sethuraman K Raman
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

non-disease?

Tom P. Kindlon
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Disease Vs. Non-disease: When a non-disease becomes a disease?

Malvinder S. Parmar
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non-Diseases or CO Poisoning?

Albert H Donnay
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Arrogance

Anelie J. Walsh
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Medicalization.. non-disease.. a view from across the pond

Gary N. Fox
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Hypercholesterolaemia - the superior winner

Uffe Ravnskov
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Other Non-Diseases??

Patricia S. Blankenship
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

non disease of the month

John p McCormack
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

"Non-disease"

Aya Biderman
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non Diseases - A Case of Throwing the Baby Out With The Bath Water?

Dianna Dunbar
bmj.com, 16 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Myalgia Encephalitis

Raymond Henry Givan
bmj.com, 17 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Dis-ease= Drug-Deficiency

Kenneth M. Jacobie
bmj.com, 17 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Who carries the can?

Alexa E McLaughlin
bmj.com, 17 Feb 2002 [Full text]

More choices

A Chaudhuri
bmj.com, 17 Feb 2002 [Full text]

here we go again

Paul S Mitchell
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Join the queue

Gurli H. Bagnall
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

This exercise is a slippery slope itself

Raymond F Colliton
bmj.com, 17 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Domestic violence and Non-disease

seshubabu gosala, et al.
bmj.com, 17 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome

Domenic A. Tricome
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Additional non-disease

Kjell O. Skavdal
bmj.com, 17 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Profit & loss

Raelene J Reeves
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Common childhood symptoms

Peter M Jones
bmj.com, 17 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Stupid Idea Syndrome

Trevor Wainwright
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Autism as a process of dealing with the world

David N Andrews
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non-Diseases of the Past

Robert D. Tennent
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

The origin of "Non-Disease"

James A Dickinson
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Missing Non disease

Sri S Varman
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Common childhood symptoms

zaffar sultan
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Age

Dirk Ulbricht
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

'Wind'

Surinder Singh
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Shyness etc

Tim R Anderson
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

non-diseases

douglas n salmon
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Non-diseases

Tim R Anderson
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Impacted wisdom teeth

Mahendra Bagur
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non-Diseases

Christopher I Stark
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

non-diseases

Indramani Jena
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Bags under eyes

NAEIM ASAAD, et al.
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

another non-disease

Mark S CADE
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Let's leave dental problems to the dentists!

Sarah David
bmj.com, 18 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non disease or lack of knowledge?

Ann E. Fonfa
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Benign Chest Pain and Syndrome X

Colleen McKinnon, et al.
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Three other responses

Collen Mckinnon, et al.
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Repetitive Strain Injury

Martin Wilson
bmj.com, 22 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Two other responses

Colleen McKinnon, et al.
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Ivan Illich on what is and what isn't a disease

Richard Smith
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Chinese restaurant syndrome and penis envy

Caroline Richmond
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Miscarriage

Rupak R Roy
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Dental signs and symptoms

(Dr) Trevor Watts
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2002 [Full text]

another one

Nicola A Cooper
bmj.com, 19 Feb 2002 [Full text]

prevalence of non-diseases outside the UK

David W Pitches
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Disability

Kevin Reel
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

...and another

Caroline Richmond
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

atypical depression

Edward Shorter
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Hyperlipidaemia is the champion

Jorgen V Nielsen
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Physical-Mental-Social and Spiritual well being

praveen kumar madikonda
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

non-disease

Phillip I Hodson
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Rationing?

Steve Hajioff
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/M.E. Medical Profession Cops Out

Christopher A. Szabo
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

The most insideous non-disease

Jeffrey Craig Phillips
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Re: Three other responses

Alexa E McLaughlin
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Ivan Illich on what is and what isn't a disease

Alexa E McLaughlin
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

two list additions

Anne Peticolas
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

CFS vs ME

Jill McLaughlin
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

ear wax

naeim ASAAD, et al.
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Criteria for non-disease

Mohan Chawla
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Ivan Illich on what is and what isn't a disease

L S Lewis
bmj.com, 20 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Laenaac on what is and what isn't a disease

A Chaudhuri
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Mitral Valve Prolapse

Hans JM Van Brabandt
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

sick notes

Antony M Goodwin
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non-disease

Meng-Kin Lim
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: The most insideous non-disease

Christopher A Weiner
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

ICD605: Redundant prepuce and phimosis

Hugh P Young
bmj.com, 25 Feb 2002 [Full text]

physiological phimosis

Shelton M Kartun
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Munchausen syndrome by proxy

Michael D Innis
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Non-diseases

Ahmad Reza Rasekhi
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Doctor-Thinks-you-have-a-disease syndromes.

Belle Monappa Hegde
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

old age - a nondisease?

Valmiki Kolmi Nagaraj, et al.
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Not worthy

Jan Willem de Bruijn
bmj.com, 21 Feb 2002 [Full text]

A Darwinian concept of non-disease

Kazem Zarrabi, et al.
bmj.com, 22 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Tropical non-diseases

John S. Marr, et al.
bmj.com, 22 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Everything is a disease?

Alejandro F. Luque-Coqui, et al.
bmj.com, 22 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Ageing is natural

iona e collins
bmj.com, 22 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Re: The most insideous non-disease

David Carvel
bmj.com, 22 Feb 2002 [Full text]

low blood pressure

Mónica G Silva
bmj.com, 22 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Truth, Justice and our Humanity

Malcolm Hooper
bmj.com, 22 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Better to have a 'non-survey' than a 'non-disease survey'

Jeanette L Chapman
bmj.com, 22 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Purpose of this exercise

Alexa E McLaughlin
bmj.com, 23 Feb 2002 [Full text]

CFS/ME a Non-illness?

Lucy I Dechene
bmj.com, 23 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Ivan Illich on what is and what isn't a disease

Gurli Bagnall
bmj.com, 23 Feb 2002 [Full text]

The point of this exercise

Richard Smith
bmj.com, 24 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Almost none of the above

Peter J Allmark
bmj.com, 24 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Smith - Devil's Advocate?

Gurli Bagnall
bmj.com, 24 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Labels create legitimacy and produce dependence

Kevin C Murphy
bmj.com, 24 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Common Sense

Ian A Miller
bmj.com, 27 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Mythical Malady

Charles Pragnell
bmj.com, 25 Feb 2002 [Full text]

What really is the point

Trevor Wainwright
bmj.com, 25 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Thank you

Dale A. Roose
bmj.com, 27 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Re: Re: Re: The most insideous non-disease

Christopher A Weiner
bmj.com, 25 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Our common sense has atrophied

Julian H Jessop
bmj.com, 26 Feb 2002 [Full text]

MIS-DIAGNOSED MSBP

Michael D Innis
bmj.com, 27 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Elevated Cholesterol Is Not a Disease

Paul J. Rosch
bmj.com, 26 Feb 2002 [Full text]

The pros and cons of medicalisation

Simon Wessely
bmj.com, 27 Feb 2002 [Full text]

Patients' Poll on BMJ Results in Landslide

Jean Linn
bmj.com, 1 Mar 2002 [Full text]

In response to Wessely

Gurli Bagnall
bmj.com, 1 Mar 2002 [Full text]

Disability is a civil rights issue

Joyce M. Carter, et al.
bmj.com, 2 Mar 2002 [Full text]

Disease and non disease in children?

Barbara J Robinson
bmj.com, 3 Mar 2002 [Full text]

Is this a useful thing to do?

David J Walland
bmj.com, 8 Mar 2002 [Full text]

Re: Is this a useful thing to do?

John P. Heptonstall
bmj.com, 9 Mar 2002 [Full text]

The IQOL Indice

Karel A Lyons
bmj.com, 9 Apr 2002 [Full text]

what about these others

Alexander Parish
bmj.com, 10 Apr 2002 [Full text]

A pathetic attempt at cost-cutting...

Maria Christou
bmj.com, 11 Apr 2002 [Full text]

Top 10 Diseases Farce - Why I voted how I did

Trevor Wainwright
bmj.com, 11 Apr 2002 [Full text]

What should doctors be doing?

Jon Stone
bmj.com, 11 Apr 2002 [Full text]

A Joke, Yes?

Janette A Cobb
bmj.com, 11 Apr 2002 [Full text]

One disease should no longer be newly diagnosed, ever

Taimur Shoaib
bmj.com, 11 Apr 2002 [Full text]

Non Ilnnesses - another view

Trevor Wainwright
bmj.com, 11 Apr 2002 [Full text]

Is this poll supposed to help anyone?

Lynn A Watson
bmj.com, 11 Apr 2002 [Full text]

it is really a disease!

Elaine s Millard
bmj.com, 15 Apr 2002 [Full text]

Re: A non disease

Sarah L Davies
bmj.com, 12 Apr 2002 [Full text]

Shame

Marc G M van Impe
bmj.com, 16 Apr 2002 [Full text]

GP's with NON-DISEASE ailments

Vikki Crawford
bmj.com, 17 Apr 2002 [Full text]

FIBROMYALGIA

Sylvia M Mills
bmj.com, 25 Apr 2002 [Full text]

FURTHER DEFINITION OF A NON-DISEASE

RAJKUMAR K CHETTY
bmj.com, 15 May 2002 [Full text]

Feel ashamed

Victoria M Whitelaw
bmj.com, 26 Nov 2003 [Full text]

BMJ surveys dont speak for the medical profession

John Hopkins, et al.
bmj.com, 27 Nov 2003 [Full text]