Mass psychogenic illness in a shoe factory: a case report.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Colligan, Michael J. ; Murphy, Lawrence R.
• Description:
  A case history of industrial mass psychogenic illness is reported. About 75 employees of a shoe factory (SIC-3143) reported symptoms of headache, lightheadedness, and dizziness on two separate occasions within a 1 week period. Air samples were collected and analyzed, affected workers were interviewed, and questionnaires were distributed to a random sample of workers. Extensive environmental testing failed to identify any toxic agents. Physicians characterized the physical symptomatology as hyperventilation syndrome, suggesting a psychogenic as opposed to a toxicological etiology. Most survey variables that correlated with the illness, pertained to work environment factors; these included dissatisfaction with physical characteristics of the workplace, overtime pressures, and workload dissatisfaction. Workers who witnessed others become ill also reported experiencing more symptoms. The authors conclude that the outbreak represents a case of industrial mass psychogenic illness precipitated by a combination of physical and psychological job and life stressors. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Case Reports Mental Disorders Mental Health Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Psychogenic Illness Case-studies Epidemic Industrial-hygiene Industrial-psychology Industry NIOSH-Author Occupational-medicine Physical-stress Psychological-disorders Psychological-factors Psychological-stress Stress

  More +
• ISSN:
  0340-0131
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  133-138
• Volume:
  44
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00117470
• Citation:
  Int Arch Occup Environ Health 1979 Sep; 44(3):133-138
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1979
• NORA Priority Area:
  Psychologic Disorders
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3143 - Men's footwear, except athletic - (SIC)
• Source Full Name:
  International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7d3eb5150ea00e3fa9a7e6771138f15385c95493c5da1f1e81971fe7c23ac48400e030afa30930579dc0c3947ae3400f75db19475000bebd8d05b4c392db9db2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/184464/cdc_184464_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 316.08 KB ]