Overdiagnosis

Overdiagnosis can mean either:

• The diagnosis of a disease at an asymptomatic stage when it would not have had a chance to become symptomatic because the patient died in between.
• The false positive result of the application of diagnostic criteria that would not have given symptoms during the lifetime of a patient.

Additional recommended knowledge

Daily Sensitivity Test

Guide to balance cleaning: 8 simple steps

Correct Test Weight Handling Guide: 12 Practical Tips

Screening programs increase both kinds of overdiagnosis.

References

• Zahl, Per-Henrik and Jan Maehlen (2007). "Constant relative survival rates in Sweden and Norway when adjusting for screening-related overdiagnosis" in Int J Cancer 2007 Jan 17.