Are There Global Syndemics?

ABSTRACT

In this article, we address the nature of syndemics and whether, as some have asserted, these epidemiological phenomena are global configurations. Our argument that syndemics are not global rests on recognition that they are composed of social/environment contexts, disease clusters, demographics, and biologies that vary across locations. These points are illustrated with the cases of syndemics involving COVID-19, diabetes mellitus, and HIV/AIDS. We draw on theoretical discourse from epidemiology, biology, and anthropology to present what we believe is a more accurate framework for thinking about syndemics with shared elements.

KEYWORDS:

• Syndemics
• COVID-19
• diabetes mellitus
• HIV/AIDS
• local biologies
• syndemogemics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. “Coloured” is one of five census designated ethnic groups that make up the South Africa population. It references individuals whose heritage is a mixture of indigenous Khoisan, East or South Asian, Austronesian, Bantu, and White. It does not include individuals who are bi-racial or Black, as the term is pejoratively used in the United States and elsewhere.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Merrill Singer

Merrill Singer, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Senior Research Scientist, at the Center for Health, Intervention and Prevention, University of Connecticut. Social justice, the social determinants of health, syndemics, climate change and health, and critical medical anthropology have been enduring themes of his research and applied work.

Nicola Bulled

Nicola Bulled is a critical medical anthropologist working at the intersections of global health, health communication, and anthropology. Her work is concerned with the interplay of personal and health system barriers, and on economic and structural factors that shape risk engagement, prevention product use, and health outcomes.

Thomas Leatherman

Thomas Leatherman is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A primary focus of his scholarship has been to develop a critical biosocial/biocultural anthropology that elucidates how social life is embodied in human biology and health.