Greenberg D R, Tracy J K, Grattan L M
Department of Neurology, University of Maryland Medical School, USA.
Md Med J. 1998 May;47(3):133-6.
Mass hysteria or mass psychogenic illness is the spread of the belief of an illness (symptoms and the origins of the symptoms) through a population. The characteristics of mass psychogenic illness were reviewed and compared to the recent outbreak of human illness in the Pocomoke region in Maryland in the summer of 1997. The findings suggest that the nature of the symptoms complex--the onset and recovery course; the absence of secondary gain or job-related stress for most of the symptomatic persons; the predominance of males in the symptomatic group; and the baseline emotional stability of all persons examined--are inconsistent with the reported features of psychogenic illness in response to unknown environmental or chemical toxins. Although there may be individuals who exhibited hypochondriacal, hysterical, or other functionally based reactions, the recent outbreak of Pfiesteria-related illness probably does not represent an episode of mass psychogenic illness.
群体性癔症或群体心因性疾病是指一种疾病（症状及症状根源）的信念在人群中的传播。本文回顾了群体心因性疾病的特征，并将其与1997年夏季马里兰州波科莫克地区近期爆发的人类疾病进行了比较。研究结果表明，症状复合体的性质——发病和康复过程；大多数有症状者不存在继发获益或与工作相关的压力；有症状群体中男性占主导；以及所有受检者的基线情绪稳定性——与因未知环境或化学毒素引发的心因性疾病的报告特征不一致。尽管可能有个体表现出疑病、癔症或其他基于功能的反应，但近期与费氏弧菌相关疾病的爆发可能并不代表群体性癔症发作。
