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Mass psychogenic illness
SynonymMass hysteria, epidemic hysteria, mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder
Painting by Pieter Brueghel the Younger of dancing peasants
Dancing plagues of the Middle Ages are thought to have been caused by mass hysteria
SpecialtyPsychiatry
SymptomsHeadache, dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain, cough, fatigue, sore throat
Risk factorsChildhood or adolescence, intense media coverage. Possibly extraversion, neuroticism or low IQ.
Differential diagnosisActual diseases, mass delusions, somatic symptom disorder
 
Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria, or mass hysteria, is "the rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a nervous system disturbance involving excitation, loss, or alteration of function, whereby physical complaints that are exhibited unconsciously have no corresponding organic aetiology".

Epidemiology