factitious disease
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia.
Statistics Male:female ratio, 1:2; 74% develop the condition by age 24; the average patient is diagnosed by age 32.
Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
factitious disease
Factitious disorder, illness Psychiatry Any of a number of self-produced lesions or biochemical changes seen in persons with neuroses to gratify various self-motivated needs–eg, sympathy and narcotics; these conditions share the same raison d'etre, differing only in the site of injury and agent used to produce the lesions. See Munchausen syndrome, Psychosomatic disorder, Self-mutilation.McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.