What is the difference between disease and disorder?

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Both are fairly synonymous terms meaning deviations from accepted, "normal" physiological or psychological functioning.

Contrary to popular belief, neither imply particular underlying causes, nor is one more medically accepted than the other. In particular, disease does not require infection (e.g. cardiovascular disease), disorders can be caused by infection (epilepsy), and doctors use both freely.

Disease is the older term of the two. Historically, it implies a relative permanence, non-subjectivity, and invariance of symptoms and causation beyond psychiatric illness. Those wishing to avoid negative stigma often prefer "disorder"; in contrast, those wishing to highlight molecular or genetic causation may opt for "disease", e.g. "alcoholism is a disease".

Disorder is a newer term, often used for illnesses where the origin, duration, or physiological basis of an illness is relatively unknown. It is also used where there is a clear underlying cause, yet symptoms have an unusually wide, often subtle, range.
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First answer by USCitizen. Last edit by Drherrema. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributorrecommended]. Question popularity: 17 [recommend question].

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