Author: Dr. Suzanne O’ Sullivan Published in USA by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2025
BOOK REVIEW: The Age of Diagnosis: How Our Obsession with Medical Labels Is Making Us Sicker *
Author: Dr. Suzanne O’ Sullivan Published in USA by Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2025
Review by Elizabeth A. Amin MD
* The subtitle of this book belies the wide-ranging discussion of medical conditions that the author undertakes. It has some relevance but is not a unifying thread or primary objective of the book as a whole. Dr. O’ Sullivan, a neurologist and clinical neurophysiologist practicing in London, is a consultant at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. This is her fourth book written for general readership. It consists of six chapters: 1) Huntington’ s Disease, 2) Lyme Disease and Long Covid, 3) Autism, 4) the Cancer Gene, 5) ADHD, Depression and Neurodiversity, and 6) Syndrome Without a Name. The introduction explains how and why she grounds her observations in individual patient behaviors.
I found the chapter on Huntington’ s Disease to be different from the others. HD is an incurable condition that causes progressive / irreversible physical and cognitive decline. The typical age of onset of symptoms is between 30 and 50 with death between 10 and 25 years later. The gene for HD was the first disease gene to be discovered. HD is a monogenic, autosomal dominant disorder. It therefore has a predictable inheritance pattern. The children of an affected individual have a 50-50 chance of inheriting the disorder: they will either have it or they won’ t. A positive result is a certainty for the development of the disease, not just a risk factor. The age of onset and the pattern of development often follow a familial pattern so the children of an affected individual can anticipate their own future if or when they decide to be tested. The individuals we encounter in this chapter give logical and well thought out reasons as to whether they will test or not. Certainly, there can be anxiety awaiting the test results but once achieved the path forward is clear. Individuals who test positive are not being“ made sicker” by knowing the result. They are in a sense being given time to plan for their future. I found this to be qualitatively different from the uncertainty, mislabeling, self-diagnosis and searches for explanatory diagnoses that Dr. O’ Sullivan tackles in
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