This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Clouston, T. S. Articles by Berrios, G. E. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Phthisical Insanity

G. E. Berrios

Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital (Box 189), Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 2QQ, UK. geb11{at}cam.ac.uk

The history of the relationship between tuberculosis and insanity has been neglected. This is surprising, for during the nineteenth century it was subject to an important medical and cultural debate and gave rise to a style of analysis which has been used ever since to study the clinical phenomenon of ‘disease-coexistence’ (rebaptized ‘comorbidity’ during the 1970s). Triggered by a perceived increase in the prevalence of tuberculosis and insanity, the debate centred around the meaning and mechanisms of disease-coexistence, techniques which may be used to rule out fortuitous associations, the comparative relevance of epidemiological, congenital, genetic and environmental factors, and the clinical effects that the members of the disease pair may have on each other. The Classic Text reprinted below provides an adequate introduction to the main issues listed above.

Key Words: Clouston • comorbidity • consumption • disease-coexistence • disease-co-occurrence • history • insanity • mental disorder • phthisis • psychiatry • tuberculosis

History of Psychiatry, Vol. 16, No. 4, 473-479 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0957154X05060729


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?