In philosophy, a concept is defined as a mental picture formed by a combination of all its aspects. Like language, key concepts both describe and construct phenomena (see Method: Rethinking Language and Iconographic Representation). Research can be guided in part by “taken-for-granted” concepts. Innovative science critically evaluates all concepts figuring in research.
Sex and gender analysis has challenged key concepts.
Cardiovascular disease
Heart attack, and heart disease more generally, were long considered male conditions and defined by male symptoms. In the past several decades, the concept of cardiovascular disease has been redefined to include both men and women, and traditional heart attack symptoms, including a man clutching his chest, have been reevaluated after finding that women’s symptoms differ significantly.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis has traditionally been defined as a disease of white, postmenopausal women. Diagnostic criteria were based on data relating bone mineral density (BMD) with fracture risk in female populations. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that men suffer from osteoporosis as well, and that they have even been underdiagnosed because of the limited scope of the diagnostic definitions. Redefining osteoporosis to include men as well as at-risk minority groups has led to new research and clinical practices that address osteoporosis in a wider population.
