Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An aggregation of two or more diseases that interact synergistically within a population.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Coined by Merrill Singer in the mid-1990s. See syn- and compare epidemic.

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Examples

  • [1] The TB/HIV "syndemic" presents a major challenge to public health programs, because rising rates of HIV lead to rising rates of TB disease, routine diagnostic methods often fail to diagnose TB in HIV-infected patients, and the case-fatality rate for HIV-associated TB is high.

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Sirinapha X. Jittimanee et al. 2009

  • Early socialization experiences of gay men increase risk for syndemic conditions in adulthood

    THE MEDICAL NEWS 2010

  • Early socialization experiences of gay men increase risk for syndemic conditions in adulthood

    THE MEDICAL NEWS 2010

  • "Our study shows that the early socialization experiences of gay men can be deeply stigmatizing and increase their risks for these syndemic conditions in adulthood," said Sin

    Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7 2010

  • Early socialization experiences of gay men increase risk for syndemic conditions in adulthood

    THE MEDICAL NEWS 2010

  • [1], [2] In addition to the biomedical challenges, the TB/HIV syndemic also challenges public health programs to deal with important social and cultural factors linked to both diseases.

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Sirinapha X. Jittimanee et al. 2009

  • These cuts and layoffs are an outcome of untreated "pre-existing conditions" of social justice if you will: racism and patriarchy plus capitalism (the policy of profit over people, the domination of the priorities of government by the business class, blahdy blah blah.) an ongoing syndemic illness which budget cuts are exacerbating, and a good illustration of the intersections between economic justice, social justice, and budget justice.

    RSSMicro Search - Top News on RSS Feeds 2009

  • Last September, writing in the British medical journal The Lancet, editor in chief Richard Horton contended that the appropriate word was “syndemic,” not pandemic— “a set of linked health problems involving two or more afflictions, interacting synergistically, and contributing to excess burden of disease in a population.”

    Facing Our Syndemic: Rethinking Policy for a World in Crisis Steve Dubb 2021

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