Syndemic contexts: findings from a review of research on non-communicable diseases and interviews with experts

Figures & data

Figure 1. Literature review flow chart

Figure 2. Four layers of context, adapted from the main determinants of health model [19]

Table A1. Summary of reviewed articles

Citation	Discipline^1	Study design^2	Main contextual factors analysed^3
The syndemics of diabetes and depression in Brazil – An epidemiological analysis [21].	Social medicine	Quant	Living and working conditions Social and community networks Only partially addressed: General social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions
‘Just One Thing after Another’: Recursive Cascades and Chronic Conditions [22].	Anthropology	Qual	Living and working conditions Social and community networks Only partially addressed: Individual lifestyle factors
Association of Social Adversity with Comorbid Diabetes and Depression Symptoms in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study: A Syndemic Framework [23].	Psychology	Quant	Living and working conditions Social and community networks
When HIV is ordinary and diabetes new: remaking suffering in a South African township [16].	Medical Anthropology & Public Health	Qual	Living and working conditions Social and community networks
Syndemic suffering in Soweto: Violence and inequality at the nexus of health transition in south Africa [15].	Medical Anthropology	Qual	Living and working conditions Social and community networks
Stress, diabetes, and infection: Syndemic suffering at an urban Kenyan hospital [24].	Medical Anthropology & Public health	MM	Living and working conditions Social and community networks
Addressing Syndemic Health Disparities Among Latin Immigrants Using Peer Support [25].	Anthropology	MM	Living and working conditions Social and community networks Individual lifestyle factors.
Transactions in Suffering: Mothers, Daughters, and Chronic Disease Comorbidities in New Delhi, India [26].	Medical Anthropology	Two case studies from a bigger MM study	Social and community networks
Applying Syndemics and Chronicity: Interpretations from Studies of Poverty, Depression, and Diabetes [27].	Medical Anthropology	Two case studies from two original MM studies	Living and working conditions Social and community networks Only partially addressed: Individual lifestyle factors.
The Utility of a Syndemic Framework in Understanding Chronic Disease Management Among HIV-Infected and Type 2 Diabetic Men Who Have Sex with Men [28].	Medicine & Public Health	Quant	Social and community networks Individual lifestyle factors Only partially addressed: Living and working conditions
When Diabetes Confronts HIV: Biological Sub-citizenship at a Public Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya [29].	Medical Anthropology	3 case studies narratives from a bigger MM study	General social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions Also included in the measure and analysis: Living and working conditions Social and community networks
Encountering Work: Intergenerational Informality, Child Labor, and Malnutrition in Urban Ecuador [30].	Anthropology	Qual	Living and working conditions Only partially addressed: General social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions.
Carolina in the Carolines: A Survey of Patterns and Meanings of Smoking on a Micronesian Island [31].	Anthropology	MM	Individual lifestyle factors Mainly, but embedded in a broader analysis including: Living and working conditions Social and community networks

¹Discipline was determined by looking at the (main) professional title of first and second author(s).

²Quantitative (quant), qualitative (qual), mixed-methods (MM).

³Rainbow model layers [19].

Table A2. Participants information

Participant (P)	Professional background^1	Type of syndemic-related research
1	Medical Anthropology	Research (fieldwork)
2	Medical Anthropology & Public Health	Research (fieldwork)
3	Medical Anthropology & Public Health	Research (fieldwork)
4	Medicine & Social medicine	(Quantitative) Research
5	Medical Anthropology	Academic debate and publications; research (fieldwork)
6	Public Health Anthropology	Academic work and debate (theorization of syndemic and other publications)
7	Medical Anthropology	Research (fieldwork)
8	Psychiatry	Academic debate and (quantitative) research
9	Public Health Nursing	Research (fieldwork) and intervention research
10	Epidemiology and Medical Anthropology	Research (fieldwork) and intervention research
11	Medical Anthropology	Academic work and debate (theorization of syndemic and other publications)

¹Professional background was determined by looking at the (main) professional title of participants.

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