Inadvertently one of the main ways in which modern society is medicalized is through the pharmacological intervention of healthy people with preventive goals. The use of criteria to initiate treatments based on an unclear and problematic concept of “high risk” and the insistence on attaining even lower therapeutic targets can potentially medicalize an ample group of the population with no solid scientific basis to support them. Physicians today should be aware of this problem and should show prudence in their practice.

Authors:

• Félix Miguel García et al. Castille & Leon Regional Health Service. Spain