Diseases

Environmental Illness

A polysymptomatic condition believed by clinical ecologists to result from immune dysregulation induced by common foods, allergens, and chemicals, resulting in various physical and mental disorders. The medical community has remained largely skeptical of the existence of this disease, given the plethora of symptoms attributed to environmental illness, the lack of reproducible laboratory abnormalities, and the use of unproven therapies to treat the condition. (From Segen, Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

A polysymptomatic condition believed by clinical ecologists to result from immune dysregulation induced by common foods, allergens, and chemicals, resulting in various physical and mental disorders. The medical community has remained largely skeptical of the existence of this disease, given the plethora of symptoms attributed to environmental illness, the lack of reproducible laboratory abnormalities, and the use of unproven therapies to treat the condition. (From Segen, Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)

MeSH Record

Classification

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See Also

MeSH Record

Synonyms

7 entry terms
  • Environmental Hypersensitivities
  • Environmental Hypersensitivity
  • Environmental Illnesses
  • Hypersensitivities, Environmental
  • Hypersensitivity, Environmental
  • Illness, Environmental
  • Illnesses, Environmental

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

35 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemically induced, classification, complications, congenital, diagnosis, diagnostic imaging, diet therapy, drug therapy, economics, embryology, enzymology, epidemiology, ethnology, etiology, genetics, history, immunology, metabolism, microbiology, mortality, nursing, parasitology, pathology, physiopathology, prevention & control, psychology, radiotherapy, rehabilitation, surgery, therapy, urine, veterinary, virology.

MeSH Record

Indexing Annotation

general or unspecified; prefer specifics; coordinate with specific disease or source of illness; not for diseases caused by environmental pollution: index under specific disease and ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION or specific environmental pollutant

MeSH Record

History Note

96

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

  1. C20w.543w.312
  2. C21w.223

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Environmental Illness. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D018876. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D018876
  2. Environmental Illness. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55012901