Disease Mongering and the Disorientation of Science. Is it Possible that the Scientific Method is Being Diverted to Commercial Ends?

Abstract

Disease mongering is the process, supported by marketing and healthcare communication campaigns, through which minor ailments, mild disorders, or normal physiological conditions are transformed—for commercial purposes—into actual pathologies. The goal is to artificially and commercially convert healthy people into sick individuals, into patients who "consume" drugs and diagnostic tests. This conversion occurs by lowering clinical parameters or even inventing "false diseases." The process tends to increase medicalization, drug consumption, and the number of therapeutic interventions. The question we ask is this: can this commercial approach significantly disorient science and divert the scientific method primarily toward market interests? To answer our question, we initiated a literature search, using biomedical databases, analyzing the most relevant articles on the topic, and reflecting on the most interesting and significant data. The results of our research clearly demonstrate how disease mongering shapes the very concept and definition of disease, as well as how it influences the production of scientific evidence, medical communication, healthcare training, and the public perception of health. In conclusion, based on the study conducted and the scientific articles reviewed, we believe that the scientific method, if bent to commercial interests, risks losing its epistemic function. In particular, we also believe that disease mongering poses a concrete risk to the integrity of science and public health. In our medical view, we believe it is unscientific to artificially and consumeristically transform healthy people into sick people; therefore, we advocate for serious and determined multidisciplinary countermeasures.