For those interested in the UK debate about the so-called “over-diagnosis” of ADHD this (by veteran health-related government “scourge”) Roy Lilley ⤵️ is a *must read*:

“Heaven”

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Heaven.html?soid=1102665899193&aid=4-SCoZur-9I

“Streeting's mental health review; is it a genuine attempt to look into the ‘sea of troubles’ so many people seem to be in, or is it just a crude attempt to find a way to cut the benefits bill?”

#Press #UK #NHS #ADHD #Autism #OverDiagnosis #Cuts #Welfare #Labour #Streeting #Labour #Bungs

"Why is our health secretary picking over the number of diagnoses, when he could be focusing on why our systems of work, education and care are still so closed off to the people who get them?"

The ever-excellent John Harris dissects the nasty "overdiagnosis" trope, currently promoted by Wes Streeting and our nightmare Labour government. His style is calm and balanced, but I can feel the underlying rage.

John Harris is a good man.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/07/adhd-autism-overdiagnosis-wes-streeting

#autism #ADHD #overdiagnosis #WesStreeting #UKpol #Labour #JohnHarris

'Life being stressful is not an illness' – GPs on mental health over-diagnosis

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2pvxdn9v4o

#HackerNews #MentalHealth #OverDiagnosis #StressfulLife #GPs #Perspectives #Wellbeing #Healthcare

The third of three articles on medical overdiagnosis and how it skews resources towards treating the healthy instead of treating the sick:

https://iai.tv/articles/you-cant-test-your-way-to-health-auid-3271?_auid=2020

#Health #Overdiagnosis

A contrarian view of the value of cancer screening (except for lung cancer in smokers):

https://iai.tv/articles/cancer-screening-harms-more-people-than-it-saves-auid-3264?_auid=2020

Note that the author resigned from Dartmouth in 2018 following a disputed allegation of plagiarism--but his research results don't otherwise appear to be in question.

#Cancer #Screening #Overdiagnosis

🧵 1/2

I've just finished "The Age of Diagnosis" by Suzanne O'Sullivan.

The author, an Irish neurologist, claims that we are becoming the victims of overdiagnosis and overmedicalization.

Overdiagnosis - a term with which I was not not hitherto familiar - "refers to a diagnosis that is correct but which does not benefit the patient and may arguably do harm. Overdiagnosis occurs when a medical problem is detected at a stage when medical treatment is not really required".

Overmedicalisation "occurs when ordinary human differences, behaviour and life stages are given medical labels..."

I found this book thought provoking, in particular with regard to the author's challenge to commonly held assumptions about the benefits of screening and pre-emptive testing. I also thought her warnings about the dangers of thinking of diagnosis as a technical procedure rather than a physician's attempt to explain symptoms should be heeded.

Links to a couple of reviews can be found here: https://floss.social/@rdnielsen/114478603556078827

Some will disagree in the strongest of terms with her arguments about diagnosis creep with regard to autism, ADHD, and Lyme disease. This critical review accuses O'Sullivan of a poorly informed paternalism: https://mastodon.ie/@Tupp_ed/114609317582047709

Although I am not going to discuss those specific issues, I do worry that....

#TheAgeOfDiagnosis #SuzanneOSullivan #Health #Medicine
#Overdiagnosis #Overmedicalization #Overmedicalisation #Medicalization