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 |
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 |