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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Munchausen syndrome by proxy
— illness fabricated by another in older people | | Author(s) | Marc Moreno-Arino, Antony Bayer |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 46, no 2, March 2017 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press, March 2017 |
| Pages | pp 166-167 |
| Source | https://academic.oup.com/ageing |
| Keywords | Elder abuse ; Ill health ; Informal care ; Protection [vulnerable adults]. |
| Annotation | Brief editorial looking at Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP), otherwise known as fabricated or induced illness in vulnerable adults. Most published literature on MSbP relates to children, with less than 1% of case reports involving adults. MSbP is characterised by the abuser, usually the main carer, fabricating or inducing illness in the person in their care and bringing it to the attention of healthcare providers who may unwittingly perpetrate the abuse by arranging unnecessary investigations and treatments that can themselves be potentially harmful. Identification in frail older patients is challenging, given the atypical presentation common in this population. The usual motivation of the abuser is attention seeking rather than material gain. Inconsistent history, no diagnosis despite many investigations and improvement on separation from the carer may suggest the condition. When suspected, local procedures for protection of vulnerable adults should be followed. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-170324210 A |
| Classmark | QNT: CH: P6: CA3G |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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