WHO to classify 'gaming disorder' as mental health condition

The WHO said the disorder is going to be added in the 11th edition of its International Classification of Diseases, set to release Monday.

“A key principle in this revision was to simplify the coding structure and electronic tooling – this will allow health care professionals to more easily and completely record conditions,” says Dr Robert Jakob, Team Leader, Classifications Terminologies and Standards, WHO.

Dr Lubna Alansari, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Health Metrics and Measurement, says: “ICD is a cornerstone of health information and ICD-11 will deliver an up-to-date view of the patterns of disease.”

The WHO is today releasing its new International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).

The ICD is the foundation for identifying health trends and statistics worldwide, and contains around 55 000 unique codes for injuries, diseases and causes of death. It provides a common language that allows health professionals to share health information across the globe.

“The ICD is a product that WHO is truly proud of," says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “It enables us to understand so much about what makes people get sick and die, and to take action to prevent suffering and save lives."

ICD-11, which has been over a decade in the making, provides significant improvements on previous versions. For the first time, it is completely electronic and has a much more user-friendly format.

And there has been unprecedented involvement of health care workers who have joined collaborative meetings and submitted proposals.

The ICD team in WHO headquarters has received over 10 000 proposals for revisions. 

Image: Wikimedia Commons