Why We Need a Separate Classification of Social Psychopathologies

ICD10monitor February 26, 2024
H. Steven Moffic, MD

In medicine generally and psychiatry particularly, there has been increased attention in recent years to the social determinants of health (SDoH) and mental health, respectively.

From a diagnostic standpoint, these SDoH have been included in the Z Codes of ICD-10, and some of them in the corresponding V Codes of DSM-5. They are considered to be “Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention,” but are not considered actual mental disorders, even if sometimes “these codes are more important than any psychiatric diagnosis.”

There are Z Codes for Education, Employment, Adverse Childhood Events, Upbringing, Housing, Economics, and Family. In terms of the social environment, Code Z60.5 is particularly notable for what I have come to call social psychopathologies....

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