ReviewPsychological medicine2021
What is a mental disorder? An exemplar-focused approach.
Review in Psychological medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Digital health technologies for self-identification of the risk of perinatal mental illness: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) as a Predictor of Treatment Response in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Current state of research on the clinical benefits of herbal medicines for non-life-threatening ailments.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Causal relationship between mental illness and venous thromboembolism: a Mendelian randomization study.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Golden window of intervention in PTSD: a synthesis of preclinical evidence.Psychopharmacology · 2026Review
- The effects of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and ten-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score on mental health status.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Recent developments in imaging transcriptomics for psychiatric disorders.Psychoradiology · 2026Review
- Incidence and predictors of cardiovascular disease among hypertension patients in, Ethiopia: a retrospective follow-up study.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2025Article
- Cannabinoids and Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A Hypothesis-Driven Review.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Study on the final diagnosis of nervous system diseases with psychiatric symptoms as manifestation onset.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Article
- Neuropsychiatric Abnormalities in Metabolic Disturbances: Interplay of Adipokines and Neurotransmission.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Definitions of "Mental Disorder" from DSM-III to DSM-5.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Lifetime incidence and age of onset of mental disorders, and 12-month service utilization in primary and secondary care: a Finnish nationwide registry study.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2025Article
- Supporting Neurologic Health with Mushroom Nutrition.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Psychedelic Drugs in Mental Disorders: Current Clinical Scope and Deep Learning-Based Advanced Perspectives.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Review
- Tacit Creationism Encourages Oversimplified Views of Functions and Dysfunctions.The European journal of neuroscience · 2025Review
- Nutritional Psychiatry: A Novel Approach to the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2025Article
- Equity in eating disorders: a dialectical approach to stigma, expertise, and the coproduction of knowledge.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The question of 'what is a mental disorder?' is central to the philosophy of psychiatry, and has crucial practical implications for psychiatric nosology. Rather than approaching the problem in terms of abstractions, we review a series of exemplars - real-world examples of problematic cases that emerged during work on and immediately after DSM-5, with the aim of developing practical guidelines for addressing future proposals. We consider cases where (1) there is harm but no clear dysfunction, (2) there is dysfunction but no clear harm, and (3) there is possible dysfunction and/or harm, but this is controversial for various reasons. We found no specific criteria to determine whether future proposals for new entities should be accepted or rejected; any such proposal will need to be assessed on its particular merits, using practical judgment. Nevertheless, several suggestions for the field emerged. First, while harm is useful for defining mental disorder, some proposed entities may require careful consideration of individual v. societal harm, as well as of societal accommodation. Second, while dysfunction is useful for defining mental disorder, the field would benefit from more sharply defined indicators of dysfunction. Third, it would be useful to incorporate evidence of diagnostic validity and clinical utility into the definition of mental disorder, and to further clarify the type and extent of data needed to support such judgments.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.