syndemic

[sin-dem-ik]

noun

1. the co-occurrence of more than one epidemic, as HIV and tuberculosis, or substance abuse and mental illness, especially in relation to the biological, social, and psychological interactions of these conditions.

   Poverty is a systemic precondition for the syndemic of obesity and undernutrition.

Word History and Origins

Origin of syndemic¹

syn(ergistic) ( def. ) + (epi)demic ( def. ); coined in 1944 by Merrill Singer, U.S. medical anthropologist (born 1950)

Example Sentences

The National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Syndemic Federal Task Force ramped up educational outreach, prevention services, and surveillance.

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Public health professionals consider syphilis to be syndemic with HIV and hepatitis, meaning that they often occur at the same time and carry similar societal risk factors.

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Earlier this month, Kenya’s National Syndemic Diseases Control Council, a state body charged with coordinating national strategy for HIV and AIDS, raised the alarm that HIV infection rates among those ages 15 to 29 had surged by 61% between 2021 and 2022.

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The term syndemic refers to the synergies among epidemics.

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In the U.S., conditions were ripe for a syndemic to emerge.

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