1. Phobias Slideshow Pictures
2. Depression Tips Slideshow Pictures
3. Bipolar Slideshow: Do You Have Extreme Mood Shifts?

Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

View Full Profile

Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

View Full Profile

In this Article

• Munchausen syndrome facts
• What is Munchausen syndrome?
• What causes Munchausen syndrome?
• What are Munchausen syndrome symptoms and signs?
• How is Munchausen syndrome diagnosed?
• What is the treatment for Munchausen syndrome?
• What is the prognosis for Munchausen syndrome?
• Can Munchausen syndrome be prevented?
• Where can people get more information about Munchausen syndrome?
• Find a local Psychiatrist in your town
• Munchausen Syndrome Index

Prevention or early treatment of the factors that place people at risk for developing Munchausen syndrome are important aspects of decreasing the likelihood that the disorder will develop in a specific individual. Therefore, prevention and early detection of child abuse, education of parents, and other family members of the importance of seeing the needs for attention by seriously ill family members and for those close to them may go a long way toward preventing Munchausen syndrome from occurring in the family. If signs of the illness are detected, the earlier they can be addressed, both in the course of the illness and at the youngest age possible for the sufferer, the better the likely outcome.

American Psychiatric Association
1000 Wilson Blvd. Suite 1825
Arlington, VA 22209
http://www.psych.org

American Psychological Association
750 First Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002-4242
http://www.apa.org

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
Colonial Place Three
2107 Wilson Blvd. Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201-3042
http://www.nami.org

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Office of Communications
6001 Executive Blvd. Room 8184
MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
http://www.nimh.nih.gov

REFERENCES:

American Psychiatric Association (APA). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Washington, D.C. 2000.

Bhargava D, Al Okbi MH, Al-Abri R, et al. Phenomenology and outcome of factitious disorders in otolaryngology clinic in Oman. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine 2007: 37(2): 229-240.

Ehrlich S, Pfeiffer E, Salbach H, Lenz K, Lehmkuhl U. Factitious disorder in children and adolescents: a retrospective study. Psychosomatics 2008 September-October; 49: 392-398.

Highland KB Flume PA. A story of a woman with cystic fibrosis. Chest 2002 May; 121(5): 1704-1707.

Jaghab K, Skodnek KB, Padder TA. Munchausen syndrome and other factitious disorders in children: case series and literature review. Psychiatry 2006 May; 3(5): 10-11.

Krahn LE, Li H, O'Connor MK. Patients who strive to be ill: Factitious disorder with physical symptoms. American Journal of Psychiatry 2003; 160: 1163-1168.

Lauwers R, De Winkel NV, Vanderbruggen N, Hubloue I. Munchausen syndrome in the emergency department mostly difficult, sometimes easy to diagnose: a case report and review of the literature. World Journal of Emergency Surgery 2009; 4: 38.

Libow JA. Child and adolescent illness falsification. Pediatrics 2000 February; 105 (2): 336-342.

Mehta N, Khan I. Cardiac Munchausen syndrome. Chest 2002; 122(5): 1649-1653.

Nordqvist C. What is Munchausen syndrome? What causes Munchausen syndrome? Medical News Today; 2009 October.

Tlacuilo-Parra JA, Guevara-Gutierrez E, Garcia-De La Torre I. Factitious disorders mimicking systemic lupus erythematosus. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2000; 18: 89-93.

Turner MA, Phil M. Factitious disorders: Reformulating the DSM-IV criteria. Psychosomatics 2006 January-February; 47: 23-32.