Global research on syndemics: A meta-knowledge analysis (2001-2020)

Abstract

Syndemics or synergies of cooccurring epidemics are widely studies across health and social sciences in recent years. We conducted a meta-knowledge analysis of articles published between 2001 to 2020 in this growing field of academic scholarship. We found a total of 830 articles authored by 3025 authors, mostly from high-income countries. Publications on syndemics are gradually increasing since 2003, with rapid development in 2013. Each article was cited more than 15 times on average, whereas most (n = 604) articles were original studies. Syndemics research focused on several areas, including HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, mental health, gender minority stressors, racism, violence, chronic physical and mental disorders, food insecurity, social determinants of health, and COVID-19. Moreover, biopsychosocial interactions between multiple health problems were studied across medical, anthropological, public health, and other disciplines of science. The limited yet rapidly evolving literature on syndemics informs transdisciplinary interests to understand complex coexisting health challenges in the context of systematic exclusion and structural violence in vulnerable populations. The findings also suggest applications of syndemic theory to evaluate clinical and public health problems, examine the socioecological dynamics of factors influencing health and wellbeing, and use the insights to alleviate health inequities in the intersections of synergistic epidemics and persistent contextual challenges for population health.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Seen from a Syndemic Perspective: The LGBTQIA2SP+ Community

“…The syndemics theory has enabled scholars to identify particular sub-populations and specific community strata at higher risks for developing/spreading HIV/AIDS, such as gay and bisexual individuals and other men having sex with men (GBMSM), or youth living with HIV (YLWH). Other examples of vulnerable and frail populations include individuals suffering from mental health disorders and other issues (such as depression, binge drinking, (poly-)substance use, street drug use, psychological distress, childhood sexual abuse, intimate partner violence and sexual assault as well as other psychosocial risk factors) or subjects experiencing stigma, a lack of strong social support networks, other psychological burdens, and/or low socio-economic status [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

“…Adopting a bio-psycho-social perspective and, more specifically, a syndemic lens is of paramount importance in devising and designing public health preventative strategies and interventional approaches aimed at improving and enhancing community wellbeing, which results from the complex, non-linear interaction between societal, economic-financial, environmental, cultural, and political variables [8].…”

Intervening on the Intersecting Issues of Intimate Partner Violence, Substance Use, and HIV: A Review of Social Intervention Group's (SIG) Syndemic-Focused Interventions for Women

“…Syndemic theory has been applied to investigate the clustering and synergistic interactions among communicable and non-communicable diseases among a wide range of populations and contexts using a range of qualitative and quantitative methods that have benefited from rich interdisciplinary contributions from across scholarly disciplines, including anthropology, epidemiology, medical, and social sciences (Hossain et al, 2021). Such methods include: qualitative and mixed-methods assessments to explore underlying structural contexts; community-based participatory research (CBPR) to ensure contextual and cultural relevance; and epidemiology and biomedical evidence to identify mechanisms that link SAVA.…”

Type 2 diabetes and depressive symptoms in the adult population in Mexico: a syndemic approach based on National Health and Nutrition Survey

“…One of the syndemic clusters that has received the most attention globally is that of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and depression [9][10][11][12]. However, most of the available evidence comes from high-income countries and, to a lesser extent, from middle-and low-income countries [10,13,14]. From an epidemiological point of view, it has been found that people with T2D have an increased risk of suffering from depression; in turn, depression has an impact on the development and evolution of T2D (bidirectional causality) [15,16].…”