Radical with Amol Rajan Over-Diagnosis: Are Too Many People Being Given Medical Labels? (Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan)
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Mar 26, 2026 
Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan, consultant neurologist and author of The Age of Diagnosis, questions whether modern screening and labels sometimes harm more than help. She discusses overdetection from imaging and genetics, the nocebo effect, screening trade-offs, rising neurodiversity labels, and how diagnoses can reshape identity and life choices.
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Harm Benefit Ratio Depends On Symptom Severity
- The harm–benefit ratio of diagnosis depends on symptom severity and life impact.
- Mild or asymptomatic findings risk classification and nocebo effects that amplify minor problems into disabilities.
Screening And Tech Drive Overdetection
- Overdetection comes from broad screening and sensitive technology finding abnormalities that wouldn't cause harm.
- Modern MRI and cheap genome sequencing reveal anomalies we previously never saw in healthy bodies.
Screening Lowers Cancer Deaths But Not Overall Mortality
- Population data reveal overdiagnosis: screening reduces disease-specific deaths but often not all-cause mortality.
- Studies suggest many more people are treated unnecessarily for cancers to save a single life.
