In many cases, the terms
disease,
disorder,
morbidity and
illness are used interchangeably.
[4] In some situations, specific terms are considered preferable.
[edit] InfectionThis term broadly refers to any abnormal condition that impairs normal function. Commonly, this term is used to refer specifically to
infectious diseases, which are clinically evident diseases that result from the presence of
pathogenic microbial agents, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions. An
infection that does not produce clinically evident impairment of normal functioning is not considered a disease.
Non-infectious diseases are all other diseases, including most forms of
cancer,
heart disease, and
genetic disease.
[edit] IllnessIllness and
sickness are generally used as synonyms for
disease.
[5] However, this term is occasionally used to refer specifically to the patient's personal experience of his or her disease.
[6][7] In this model, it is possible for a person to be diseased without being ill, (to have an objectively definable, but asymptomatic, medical condition), and to be
ill without being
diseased (such as when a person perceives a normal experience as a medical condition, or
medicalizes a non-disease situation in his or her life). Illness is often not due to infection but a collection of
evolved responses,
sickness behavior, by the body aids the clearing of infection. Such aspects of illness can include
lethargy,
depression,
anorexia,
sleepiness,
hyperalgesia, and inability to
concentrate.
[8][9][10][edit] DisorderIn medicine, a
disorder is a functional abnormality or disturbance.
[11] Medical disorders can be categorized into
mental disorders,
physical disorders,
genetic disorders,
emotional and behavioral disorders, and
functional disorders.
The term
disorder is often considered more value-neutral and less stigmatizing than the terms
disease or
illness, and therefore is preferred terminology in some circumstances. In mental health, the term
mental disorder is used as a way of acknowledging the complex interaction of
biological, social, and psychological factors in
psychiatric conditions. However, the term
disorder is also used in many other areas of medicine, primarily to identify physical disorders that are not caused by infectious organisms, such as
organic brain syndrome.
[edit] Medical conditionA
medical condition is a broad term that includes all diseases and disorders, but can include [injuries] and normal health situations, such as
pregnancy, that might affect a person's health, benefit from medical assistance, or have implications for medical treatments. While the term
medical condition generally includes mental illnesses, in some contexts the term is used specifically to denote any illness, injury, or disease except for mental illnesses. The
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the widely used psychiatric manual that defines all
mental disorders, uses the term
general medical condition to refer to all diseases, illnesses, and injuries except for
mental disorders.
[12] This usage is also commonly seen in the psychiatric literature. Some
health insurance policies also define a
medical condition as any illness, injury, or disease except for psychiatric illnesses.
[13]As it is more
value-neutral than terms like
disease, the term
medical condition is sometimes preferred by people with health issues that they do not consider to be deleterious, such as pregnancy. On the other hand, by emphasizing the medical nature of the condition, this term is sometimes rejected, such as by proponents of the
autism rights movement.
The term
medical condition is used as a synonym for
medical state, where it describes a patient's current state, as seen from a medical standpoint. This usage is seen in statements that describe a patient as being "in critical condition", for example.
[edit] MorbidityMorbidity (from
Latin morbidus: sick, unhealthy) refers to a diseased state, disability, or poor health due to any cause.
[14] The term may be used to refer to the existence of any form of disease, or to the degree that the health condition affects the patient. Among severely ill patients, the level of morbidity is often measured by
ICU scoring systems.
Comorbidity is the simultaneous presence of two medical conditions, such as a person with
schizophrenia and
substance abuse.
In
epidemiology and
actuarial science, the term
morbidity rate can refer to either the
incidence rate, or the
prevalence of a disease or medical condition. This measure of sickness is contrasted with the
mortality rate of a condition, which is the proportion of people dying during a given time interval.
[edit] StagesIn an infectious disease, the
incubation period is the time between infection and the appearance of symptoms. The
latency period is the time between infection and the ability of the disease to spread to another person, which may precede, follow, or be simultaneous with the appearance of symptoms. Some viruses also exhibit a dormant phase, called
viral latency, in which the virus hides in the body in an inactive state. For example,
varicella zoster virus causes
chickenpox in the
acute phase; after recovery from chickenpox, the virus may remain dormant in nerve cells for many years, and later cause
herpes zoster (shingles).
A
cure is the end of a medical condition or a treatment that is very likely to end it, while
remission refers to the disappearance, possibly temporarily, of symptoms. Complete remission is the best possible outcome for incurable diseases.
A
flare-up can refer to either the recurrence of symptoms or an onset of more severe symptoms.
Refractory disease is a disease that resists treatment, especially an individual case that resists treatment more than is normal for the specific disease in question.
[edit] ScopeA
localized disease is one that affects only one part of the body, such as
athlete's foot or an
eye infection.
A
disseminated disease has spread to other parts; with cancer, this is usually called
metastatic disease.
A
systemic disease is a disease that affects the entire body, such as
influenza or
high blood pressure.
[edit] Disease transmissionMain article:
Transmission (medicine)Some diseases such as
influenza are contagious and infectious. The micro-organisms that cause these diseases are known as pathogens and include varieties of bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi.
Infectious diseases can be transmitted by as, by hand-to-mouth contact with infectious material on surfaces, by bites of
insects or other carriers of the disease, and from contaminated water or food (often via
faecal contamination), etc. In addition, there are
sexually transmitted diseases. In some cases,
micro-organisms that are not readily spread from person to person play a role, while other diseases can be prevented or ameliorated with appropriate
nutrition or other lifestyle changes.
Some diseases, such as most (but not all) forms of
cancer,
heart disease and mental disorders, are
non-infectious diseases. Many non-infections diseases have a partly or completely genetic basis (see
genetic disorder) and may thus be transmitted from one generation to another.
[edit] Social significance of disease Obesity was a status symbol in
renaissance culture: "The Tuscan General
Alessandro del Borro", attributed to
Andrea Sacchi, 1645.
[15] It is now generally regarded as a disease.
A condition may be considered to be a disease in some cultures or eras but not in others. Conditions such as
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and
obesity are considered to be diseases by some developed countries, but have been regarded differently in other cultures. For example, obesity can also represent wealth and abundance, and is a status symbol in famine-prone areas and some places hard-hit by
HIV/AIDS.
[16]Sickness confers the social legitimization of certain benefits, such as illness benefits, work avoidance, and being looked after by others. In return, there is an obligation on the sick person to seek treatment and work to become well once more. As a comparison, consider
pregnancy, which is not usually interpreted as a disease or sickness by the individual. On the other hand, it is considered by the medical community as a condition requiring medical care.
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.
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 phenomenon, though not all diseases evoke extreme social stigma.
Social standing and economic status affect health.
Diseases of poverty are diseases that are associated with
poverty and low social status;
diseases of affluence are diseases that are associated with high social and economic status. Which diseases are associated with which states varies according to time, place, and technology. Some diseases, such as
diabetes mellitus, may be associated with both poverty (poor food choices) and affluence (long lifespans and sedentary lifestyles), through different mechanisms. The term
diseases of civilization describes diseases that are more common among older people. For example,
cancer is far more common in societies in which most members live until they reach the age of 80 than in societies in which most members die before they reach the age of 50.