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| '''Illness''' (sometimes referred to as '''ill-health''' or '''ailment''') is a state of poor ]. Illness is sometimes considered another word for ],<ref>{{DorlandsDict|four/000052397|illness}}</ref> but others maintain that fine distinctions exist.<ref name="pmid3567788">{{cite journal |author=Emson HE |title=Health, disease and illness: matters for definition |journal=CMAJ |volume=136 |issue=8 |pages=811–3 |year=1987 |month=April |pmid=3567788 |pmc=1492114 |doi= |url=}}</ref> This article discusses the definition of illness as the subjective perception by a patient of an objectively defined disease.<ref name="pmid3567791">{{cite journal |author=McWhinney IR |title=Health and disease: problems of definition |journal=CMAJ |volume=136 |issue=8 |pages=815 |year=1987 |month=April |pmid=3567791 |pmc=1492121 |doi= |url=}}</ref> | '''Illness''' (sometimes referred to as '''ill-health''' or '''ailment''') is a state of poor ]. Illness is sometimes considered another word for ],<ref>{{DorlandsDict|four/000052397|illness}}</ref> but others maintain that fine distinctions exist.<ref name="pmid3567788">{{cite journal |author=Emson HE |title=Health, disease and illness: matters for definition |journal=CMAJ |volume=136 |issue=8 |pages=811–3 |year=1987 |month=April |pmid=3567788 |pmc=1492114 |doi= |url=}}</ref> This article discusses the definition of illness as the subjective perception by a patient of an objectively defined disease.<ref name="pmid3567791">{{cite journal |author=McWhinney IR |title=Health and disease: problems of definition |journal=CMAJ |volume=136 |issue=8 |pages=815 |year=1987 |month=April |pmid=3567791 |pmc=1492121 |doi= |url=}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 17:37, 13 November 2012
Illness (sometimes referred to as ill-health or ailment) is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease, but others maintain that fine distinctions exist. This article discusses the definition of illness as the subjective perception by a patient of an objectively defined disease.
The mode of being healthy includes, as defined by the World Health Organization, " a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". When these conditions are not fulfilled, then one can be considered to have an illness or be ill. Medication and the science of pharmacology is used to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical conditions. Developmental disability is a term used to describe severe, lifelong disabilities attributable to mental and/or physical impairments.
Physical
Conditions of the body or mind that cause pain, dysfunction, or distress to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person can be deemed an illness. 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. A pathogen or infectious agent is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. A passenger virus is a virus that simply hitchhikes in the body of a person or infects the body without causing symptoms, illness or disease. Foodborne illness or food poisoning is any illness resulting from the consumption of food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, toxins, viruses, prions or parasites.
Adaptive response
According to evolutionary medicine, much illness is not directly caused by an infection or body dysfunction but is instead a response created by the body. Fever, for example, is not caused directly by bacteria or viruses but by the body raising its normal human body temperature, which some people believe inhibits the growth of the infectious organism. Evolutionary medicine calls this set of responses sickness behavior. These include such illness defining health changes as lethargy, depression, anorexia, sleepiness, hyperalgesia, and the inability to concentrate. These together with fever are caused by the brain through its top down control upon the body. They are, therefore, not necessary, and often do not accompany an infection (such as the lack of fever during malnutrition or late pregnancy) when they have a cost that outweighs their benefit. In humans, an important factor are beliefs that influence whether the health management system in the brain that evaluates costs and benefits deploys them or not. The health management system, when it factors in false information, has been suggested to underlie the placebo reduction of illness.
Mental
Mental illness (or Emotional disability, Cognitive dysfunction) is a broad generic label for a category of illnesses that may include affective or emotional instability, behavioral dysregulation, and/or cognitive dysfunction or impairment. Specific illnesses known as mental illnesses include major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to name a few. Mental illness can be of biological (e.g., anatomical, chemical, or genetic) or psychological (e.g., trauma or conflict) origin. It can impact one’s ability to work or go to school and contribute to problems in relationships. Other generic names for mental illness include “mental disorder”, “psychiatric disorder”, “psychological disorder”,“abnormal psychology”, “emotional disability”, “emotional problems”, or “behavior problem”. The term insanity is used technically as a legal term. Brain damage may result in impairment of mental function.
Study of illness
Epidemiology is the scientific study of factors affecting the health and illness of individuals and populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine.
Behavioral medicine is an interdisciplinary field of medicine concerned with the development and integration of psychosocial, behavioral and biomedical knowledge relevant to health and illness. Clinical Global Impression scale to assess treatment response in patients with mental disorders. It's " Improvement scale" requires the clinician to rate how much the patient's illness has improved or worsened relative to a baseline state. Mental confusion and decreased alertness may indicate that a chronic illness has gotten worse.
See also
- Convalescence
- Wellness (alternative medicine) is used to mean a healthy balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being.
- Sickness behavior
References
- "illness" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
- Emson HE (1987). "Health, disease and illness: matters for definition". CMAJ. 136 (8): 811–3. PMC 1492114. PMID 3567788.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - McWhinney IR (1987). "Health and disease: problems of definition". CMAJ. 136 (8): 815. PMC 1492121. PMID 3567791.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - WHO, 1946
- Hart, B. L. (1988) "Biological basis of the behavior of sick animals". Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 12: 123-137. PMID 3050629
- Johnson, R. (2002) "The concept of sickness behavior: a brief chronological account of four key discoveries". Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology. 87: 443-450 PMID 12072271
- Kelley, K. W., Bluthe, R. M., Dantzer, R., Zhou, J. H., Shen, W. H., Johnson, R. W. Broussard, S. R. (2003) "Cytokine-induced sickness behavior". Brain Behav Immun. 17 Suppl 1: S112-118 PMID 12615196
- Humphrey, Nicholas. (2002) "Great Expectations: The Evolutionary Psychology of Faith-Healing and the Placebo Effect", in The Mind Made Flesh: Essays from the Frontiers of Psychology and Evolution, chapter 19, pages 255-85, Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0-19-280227-9