What’s the difference between a condition, disorder, disease and syndrome?
In: Biology
Someone at the Universe of Hawaii has a simple page with a simple differentiation based on the DSM-IV (an older edition of the go-to manual for psychological/psychiatric diagnosis).
SYMPTOM
-refers to an observable behavior or state.
-there is no implication that an underlying problem necessarily exists or that there is a physical etiology.
-the simplest level of analyzing a presenting problem.
SYNDROME
-the next higher level of analysis
-this term is applied to a constellation of symptoms that occur together or co-vary over time.
-the term carries no direct implications in terms of underlying pathology.
-Whether, in fact, certain sets of symptoms co-vary with one another is an empirical question.
DISORDER
-like a syndrome, refers to a cluster of symptoms,
-but the concept includes the idea that the set of symptoms is not accounted for by a more pervasive condition.
-As with symptom and syndrome, there is no implication of etiology
DISEASE
-a disorder where the underlying etiology is known.
-It is the highest level of conceptual understanding.
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~heiby/overheads_classification.html
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