Sociogenic illness

Sociogenic illness (or mass sociogenic illness) is a term that is used to describe a medical condition that occurs to multiple individuals within a social group, but does not seem to have a common organic cause. It does not 'spread' per se, as sociogenic illness is not transmissible as would occur with an infectious disease like flu, smallpox or bubonic plague. Sociogenic illnesses may be psychosomatic in nature resembling a mass hysteria (a term which is falling out of favor for its pejorative connotations), or may be defined by individuals with disparate illnesses that are wrongly linked to a common cause.

Three examples of sociogenic illness widely publicised by the media are as follows:

• An incident involving a cancer patient, Gloria Ramirez, in California on Feb 19th, 1994. Ramirez was brought into Riverside General Hospital's ER by paramedics after experiencing chest pain and stomach upset. After drawing blood from the patient, hospital staff began to faint after noting an ammonia-like smell. Staff attended to the fallen medical staff and attempted to treat Ramirez, who died shortly after. The ER was evacuated, and after searching for a toxin, none was found. A State study of the incident concluded Mass Sociogenic Illness as the cause but could not however rule out study the possibility that some workers were exposed to a poisonous substance (believed to be dimethyl sulfate). The study stated that both the source of the exposure and the nature of the compound could not be determined. This study neglected to interview key witness such as medical personnel with continuing and serious health problems. This case is still a mystery and a toxin/poison was never found. (New York Times)

• A possible outbreak of mass sociogenic illness in Belgium in June, 1999 when people, mainly schoolchildren, became ill after drinking Coca-Cola. In the end, scientists were divided over the scale of the outbreak, whether it fully explains the many different symptoms and the scale to which sociogenic illness affected those involved. (Source: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov)

• A possible outbreak of mass sociogenic illness at Le Roy Junior-Senior High School in upstate New York, United States, in which fourth-year student Thera Sanchez and eleven of her friends and classmates began suffering symptoms similar to Tourette Syndrome. Various health professionals like Dr. Jennifer McVige, Dr. Laszlo Mechtler and personnel from the New York Department of Health had ruled out such factors as Gardasil, drinking water contamination, illegal drugs, carbon monoxide poisoning and various other potential environmental or infectious causes, and some of these same experts asserted that the afflicted were suffering from a conversion disorder. Administrators at the school had stated that it was not a case of mass hysteria.

The examples above attest to the fact that sociogenic illness is difficult to determine and diagnose. It occurs under circumstances that are often complex and involving many factors.

References

• Weir, Erica (2005-01-04). "Mass sociogenic illness". Canadian Medical Association Journal 172 (1): 36. doi:10.1503/cmaj.045027. PMC 543940. PMID 15632400. http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/172/1/36. Retrieved 2007-08-20. 
• Bartholomew, Robert E.; Simon Wessely (2002). "Protean nature of mass sociogenic illness". The British Journal of Psychiatry 180 (4): 300–306. doi:10.1192/bjp.180.4.300. PMID 11925351. http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/180/4/300. Retrieved 2007-08-20. 
• Watson, Rory (1999-07- 17). "Coca-Cola health scare may be mass sociogenic illness". British Medical Journal 319 (7203): 146. PMC 1174603. PMID 10406745. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1174603. Retrieved 2007-08-20.