Geneva: “Gaming disorder” will be recognised as a disease later this year following expert consensus over the addictive risks associated with playing electronic games, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.

The disorder will be listed in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), to be published in June, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in Geneva.

WHO is leading the process of updating ICD-11, which includes input from global health practitioners.

The current working definition of the disorder is “a pattern of gaming behaviour, that can be digital gaming or video gaming, characterised by impaired control over gaming, increased priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests,” Jasarevic said.

Other symptoms include “the continuation and escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.”

The provisional guidelines say that an individual should demonstrate an abnormal fixation on gaming for at least a year before being diagnosed with the disorder, which will be classified as an “addictive behaviour,” Jasarevic said.

Agence France-Presse