Disease

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For other uses see: Disease (disambiguation)

Please note generally within psychology the preferred term is Disorders

A disease is an abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person. Sometimes the term is used broadly to include injuries, disabilities, syndromes, infections, symptoms, deviant behaviors, and atypical variations of structure and function, while in other contexts these may be considered distinguishable categories.

Pathology is the study of diseases. The subject of systematic classification of diseases is referred to as nosology. The broader body of knowledge about human diseases and their treatments is medicine. Many similar (and a few of the same) conditions or processes can affect animals (wild or domestic). The study of diseases affecting animals is veterinary medicine.

Syndromes, illness and disease

Medical usage sometimes distinguishes a disease, which has a known specific cause or causes (called its etiology), from a syndrome, which is a collection of signs or symptoms that occur together. However, many conditions have been identified, yet continue to be referred to as "syndromes". Furthermore, numerous conditions of unknown etiology are referred to as "diseases" in many contexts.

Illness, although often used to mean disease, can also refer to a person's perception of their health, regardless of whether they in fact have a disease. A person without any disease may feel unhealthy and believe he has an illness. Another person may feel healthy and believe he does not have an illness even though he may have a disease such as dangerously high blood pressure which may lead to a fatal heart attack or stroke.

Transmission of disease

Some diseases, such as influenza, are contagious or infectious, and can be transmitted by any of a variety of mechanisms, including aerosols produced by coughs and sneezes, by bites of insects or other carriers of the disease, from contaminated water or food, etc.

Other diseases, such as cancer and heart disease are not considered to be due to infection, although micro-organisms may play a role, and cannot be spread from person to person.

Social significance of disease

The identification of a condition as a disease, rather than as simply a variation of human structure or function, can have significant social or economic implications. The controversial recognitions as diseases of post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as "Soldier's heart," "shell shock," and "combat fatigue"; repetitive motion injury or repetitive stress injury (RSI); and Gulf War syndrome has had a number of positive and negative effects on the financial and other responsibilities of governments, corporations and institutions towards individuals, as well as on the individuals themselves. The social implication of viewing aging as a disease could be profound, though this classification is not yet widespread.

A condition may be considered to be a disease in some cultures or eras but not in others. Oppositional-defiant disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and, increasingly, obesity are conditions considered to be diseases in the United States and Canada today, but were not so-considered decades ago and are not so-considered in some other countries. Lepers were a group of afflicted individuals who were historically shunned and the term "leper" still evokes social stigma. Fear of disease can still be a widespread social phenomena, though not all diseases evoke extreme social stigma.

A disease can also be caused by repeated high anger or stress.

ICD-10

Work on ICD-10 began in 1983 and was completed in 1992. (Also see the ICD-10 online) Links to diseases can be accessed from: List of ICD-10 codes.

Adoption was relatively swift in most of the world, but not in the United States. Since 1988, the USA had required ICD-9-CM codes for Medicare and Medicaid claims, and most of the rest of the American medical industry followed suit.

On January 1, 1999, the ICD-10 (without clinical extensions) was adopted for reporting mortality, but ICD-9-CM was still used for morbidity. Meanwhile, NCHS received permission from the WHO to create a clinical modification of the ICD-10, and has produced drafts of the following two systems:

• ICD-10-CM, for diagnosis codes, is intended to replace volumes 1 and 2. A draft was completed in 2003.
• ICD-10-PCS, for procedure codes, is intended to replace volume 3. A final draft was completed in 2000.

However, neither of these systems is currently in place. There is not yet an anticipated implementation date to phase out the use of ICD-9-CM. There will be a two year implementation window once the final notice to implement has been published in the Federal Register. [1] A detailed timeline is provided here.

Other countries have created their own extensions to ICD-10. For example, Australia introduced their first edition of "ICD-10-AM" in 1998, and Canada introduced "ICD-10-CA" in 2000.

Other uses of the term

In biology, disease refers to any abnormal condition of an organism that impairs function.

The term disease is often used metaphorically for disordered, dysfunctional, or distressing conditions of other things, as in disease of society.

See also

• List of childhood diseases
• List of common diseases
• List of diseases for a list of 6000+ diseases, many very rare.
• List of genetic disorders
• List of environment topics
• List of ICD-9 codes
• List of infectious diseases

• Diagnosis
• Epidemic
• Illness
• Palliative care
• Therapy
• Transmission

External links

• Health Topics, MedlinePlus descriptions of most diseases, with access to current research articles.
• Center for Disease Control Health Topics A-Z, fact sheets about many common diseases
• Rare/Orphan Diseases
• imedblog, Latest disease and medical news
• National Organization for Rare Disorders Extensive, useful information on rare diseases.
• The Merck Manual, detailed description of most diseases, freely searchable online.
• MDmaker Diseases, A list of some common diseases.
• Sign and Disease