Often in the blogging community of medication & health, the terms "disease" and "disorder" are thrown around interchangeably. This happens because there hasn't been much discussion on the difference between disease and disorder. Physical disorders are problems that can be identified using certain tests such as brain scans or chemical tests. The best neurosurgeon in Lahore can help you carry out the brain scan properly.

Well, even the definition of Google's search engine for disease says it is "a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury". So in this article, let's try to find out what is the difference between disease and disorder.

Origin Of The Two Words: Disease or Disorder

So before we discuss the difference between disorder and disease, let's first see where these two words have originated from.

Disease: The term disease can be traced back to its root in Old French where it was spelled as despise. Coined in 842 Circa, this word can be broken down into two parts, “des” which means without or away, and “aise” which means ease.
Disorder: The word disorder was coined in the late 15th century, it is also influenced by the old French where it was spelled as a disorder which was further influenced by the Latin word ordain.

Disease vs Disorder: Difference Between Disease And Disorder

If you have ever tried to search what Parkinson's disease is or what an anxiety disorder is, you may find that few results say that it is a neurological disorder. There are many discussion forums and Reddit threads that are curious about the difference between disorder and disease and the findings in most of them were inconclusive (unproved). We will still try to provide some basic differences between these words.

Disease

According to a few articles, a disease is a specific label for concepts of illness.
This means we have established a mechanism that relates certain symptoms to a specific problem within the body.
A disease is also, defined as a result of the pathological response of the body to either external or internal factors.
Disease is also, referred to as an abnormality that can cause physical or emotional stress and pain.
The treatment of disease is based on such abnormalities.

Disorder

A disorder is believed to be the disruption of the usual bodily functions.
A disorder is caused because of the presence of disease in the body.
A few articles also say that disorder, simply put, means there is something wrong with the body.
As mentioned earlier, this is the reason Parkinson's disease is indeed a disorder, it stops the working of a specific part of the nervous system.

We can classify disorders into certain groups:

Physical: Physical disorders are problems that can be identified using certain tests such as brain scans or chemical tests.
Mental: Also known as mental illness is the change of behavioral, feeling, and thinking traits. It causes certain distress or issues functioning in work, relationships, or social activities.
Genetic: A genetic disorder is a mutation or damage caused to DNA due to an illness or disease that is inherited from one or both parents.
Structural: Structural disorder is some sort of physical damage caused to an organ. For instance, communication problems caused due to brain damage.

Difference Between Disease and Disorder with Examples?

Here, understand disease vs disorder with some examples! A disease is a medical condition with some recognizable symptoms and causes. The following are examples of certain diseases and their symptoms and causes:

Chickenpox: The symptoms are headache, stomach pain, and fever. And, the disease is caused by the Varicella-zoster virus.
Common cold: Sneezing, sore throat, watering eyes, stuffy or runny nose, mild cough, and low-grade fever are some of the symptoms. As per research, around 25% of Rhinoviruses are the cause of the common cold.
COVID-19: The symptoms of COVID-19 are fatigue, fever, cough, headache, body or muscle aches, and difficulty in breathing. The main virus that causes this pandemic is the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Influenza (flu): The reported symptoms are cough, fever, sore throat, body aches, headache, stuffy or runny nose, muscle ache, etc. The cause is Influenza A viruses.
Parkinson's disease: The first symptom is tremor (shaking movement) in one hand. It also leads to problems with coordination and balance and stiffness and shakiness in other body parts. It is caused due to the loss of nerve cells in certain brain areas.

On the other hand, a disorder is a disruption of the normal function and structure of the body. The cause of the disorder might not be immediately noticeable.

Anxiety disorder: The symptoms may include trouble sleeping, shaking, sweating, feeling restless or irritable, and difficulty concentrating. The causes may be childhood or past traumas, certain medications and drugs, or any mental or physical health issues.
Bipolar and Related Disorders: Unusual talkativeness, increased agitation or energy, decreased sleep need, racing thoughts, and distractibility are some of the symptoms associated with these disorders. The causes may include stressful life situations, family issues, childhood trauma, alcohol, or certain medications.
Arthritis: It is a physical disorder with certain signs and symptoms like swelling, pain, redness, and stiffness in joints. This disorder can be due to genetics, previous joint injury, aging, obesity, or certain viral infections. According to a study, arthritis is the leading cause of disability and around 54.8% of adults in the U.S. are affected by this disorder.

What is the Difference Between Condition and Disease?

A disease is typically a medical condition with noticeable symptoms and known causes. For instance, the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include stiffness, pain, and swelling in joints and the cause is an attack on joints by the immune system. On the other hand, a condition is simply a state of a person's health. It is marked as an abnormal health state and is different from the normal state. The causes are certain diseases such as diabetes, allergies, high blood pressure, cancer, asthma, etc. These conditions might or might not interrupt your day-to-day activities, but yet need effective treatment.

Take Away

The motive of this article was to light a curiosity in the reader and raise awareness about terms that get thrown around casually. It is important to keep learning new things and evolve as a human being. We will leave you with a quote from the creator of Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney. "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths".