syndemic

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the co-occurrence of two or more epidemics or disease conditions in a population in a way that is not merely coincidental but involves biological interaction between the conditions and is driven by shared social determinants; the concept, developed by medical anthropologist Merrill Singer in the 1990s, emphasises that the convergence of disease burdens is produced and sustained by social inequalities; the interaction of HIV, tuberculosis, and malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa is a classic syndemic example, as is the convergence of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in communities characterised by poverty, food insecurity, and chronic stress