Environnement et nouvelles pathologies psychiatriques

The stakes of environmental medicine extend beyond the domain of pure science. Politicians, the media, and various informal networks have taken an interest in this subject.These pathologies are dissimilar but they share two common traits: their manifestations are both non-specific and multifactorial.Some of these pathologies take on the form of a collective psychogenic reaction, as in the case of mass psychogenic illness. However, subjects suffering from these pathologies do not present a higher percentage of psychiatric disorders than do control group subjects.This article will evoke several examples (Multiple Chemical Sensibility, Mercury Exposure, Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity, and Sick Building Syndrome) and will examine to what extent environmental concerns might contribute to nosographical innovations. This article will also consider their similarities in terms of psychopathology in addition to their underlying psychodynamic mechanisms, such as the fear of serious illness (nosophobia) or the fear of being poisoned (toxicophobia).