Intended for healthcare professionals

What do you think is a non-disease?

BMJ 2002; 324 (7334). (15-22 February)

On 13 April we published a theme issue on the medicalisation of human experience ("Too much medicine?"), which included an article on non-diseases.

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

We are not suggesting that the suffering of people with these "non-diseases" is not genuine. The suffering of many with "non-diseases" may be much greater than those with widely recognised diseases. Disease is a very slippery concept.

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