The Age of Diagnosis: Sickness, Health and Why Medicine has Gone Too Far

From autism to allergies, ADHD to long Covid, more people are being labelled with medical conditions than ever before. But can a diagnosis do us more harm than good?

Suzanne O’Sullivan

he boundaries between sickness and health are being redrawn.

Mental health categories are shifting and expanding all the time, radically altering what we consider to be 'normal'.

Genetic tests can now detect pathologies decades before people experience symptoms, and sometimes before they're even born.

And increased health screening draws more and more people into believing they are unwell.

An accurate diagnosis can bring greater understanding and of course improved treatment. But many diagnoses aren't as definitive as we think. And in some cases they risk turning healthy people into patients.

Drawing on the stories of real people, as well as decades of clinical practice and the latest medical research, Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan overturns long held assumptions and reframes how we think about illness and health.

Covers so many topics that have been troubling me but I hadn't been able to resolve myself - as a parent and a clinician. An absolutely absorbing read' - CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN

'A brilliant study of the dangers of overdiagnosis' - GUARDIAN

'Compassionate and bracingly independent thinking' - THE TIMES

About the Author

Professor Kevin Morgan is a professor of governance and development in the School of Geography and Planning at Cardiff University. His research has involved, among other things, the issues of food, sustainability and public procurement.

Professor Morgan speaking at the PSC Alliance Forum ahead of the book's release:

“The social significance of the public plate is so much greater than its economic value might suggest because of the special nature of its beneficiaries. Although pupils, patients and prisoners are radically different people they all have one thing in common - they are highly vulnerable people in need of a nutritious diet.

“In schools I examine the ‘whole school approach’ and the twin challenges of universality and plant-based menus. In healthcare I examine the Sisyphean task of providing clinical solutions to the societal problem of ultra-processed foods. And in prisons I examine the defects of the carceral diet and use the example of The Clink to show that good food offers hope and dignity to help prisoners rehabilitate themselves.”