The World Health Organization for the first time has included the "fatigue" in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD), which is widely used as a benchmark for diagnosis and health insurance.

The decision reached at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, which ends on Tuesday, may help to end decades of debate between experts on how to define fatigue and whether it should be considered a medical condition.

In the latest update of its worldwide disease and injury catalog, the WHO defines fatigue as a "syndrome that has been conceptualized as the result of chronic stress at the workplace for which no adequate measures have been taken."

According to the report, the syndrome is characterized by three dimensions: 1) a sense of energy depletion or exhaustion, 2) mental distancing from work or feelings of negativity or cynicism associated with work, and 3) reduced professional efficiency.

"Fatigue refers specifically to phenomena in a professional context and should not be used to describe experience in other areas of life", according to the classification.

The updated ICD list, called ICD-11, was prepared last year following the recommendations of health experts from around the world and was approved on Saturday.

"This is the first time that" fatigue is included in the classification'', WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told reporters.

ICD-11, which will enter into force in January 2022, contains several other additions, such as classifying "obsessive sexual behavior" as a mental disorder. For the first time, however, he recognizes video games as addictive, describing them along with gambling and drugs as a cocaine.

The updated list at the same time removes transsexuality from the list of mental disorders, and instead includes it in the chapter on "Sexual Health Conditions."

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