Review

. 2017 Mar 4;389(10072):978-982.

doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30403-8.

Co-occurring epidemics, syndemics, and population health

Alexander C Tsai¹, Emily Mendenhall², James A Trostle³, Ichiro Kawachi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Chester M Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda. Electronic address: actsai@partners.org.
² Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
³ Department of Anthropology, Trinity College, Hartford, CT, USA; School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
⁴ Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.

PMID: 28271848
PMCID: PMC5972361
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30403-8

Review

Co-occurring epidemics, syndemics, and population health

Alexander C Tsai et al. Lancet. 2017.

. 2017 Mar 4;389(10072):978-982.

doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30403-8.

Authors

Alexander C Tsai¹, Emily Mendenhall², James A Trostle³, Ichiro Kawachi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Chester M Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda. Electronic address: actsai@partners.org.
² Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
³ Department of Anthropology, Trinity College, Hartford, CT, USA; School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
⁴ Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.

PMID: 28271848
PMCID: PMC5972361
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30403-8

No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

We declare that we have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

**Figure. Models of epidemics co-occurring with HIV involving syndemic synergy (left) and mutual causality (right)**
In the syndemic model in the left panel, the two epidemics are not mutually causal but demonstrate synergy: epidemic A has a greater impact on the HIV epidemic in the presence of epidemic B, epidemic B has a greater impact on the HIV epidemic in the presence of epidemic A, and the combined effect of epidemics A and B on the HIV epidemic exceeds the sum of their independent effects were no synergy present. In the model of mutual causality in the right panel, the two epidemics do not demonstrate synergy but have reciprocal relationships with each other: epidemic A exacerbates epidemic B, which in turn worsens epidemic A, and both epidemics have similar bidirectional relationships with the HIV epidemic.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

Syndemics: committing to a healthier future.
Hart L, Horton R. Hart L, et al. Lancet. 2017 Mar 4;389(10072):888-889. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30599-8. Lancet. 2017. PMID: 28271826 No abstract available.
Syndemics: a new path for global health research.
Mendenhall E. Mendenhall E. Lancet. 2017 Mar 4;389(10072):889-891. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30602-5. Lancet. 2017. PMID: 28271827 No abstract available.
To beat Omicron, Delta and bird flu, Europe must pull together.
Desvars-Larrive A. Desvars-Larrive A. Nature. 2021 Dec;600(7889):386. doi: 10.1038/d41586-021-03661-6. Nature. 2021. PMID: 34893768 No abstract available.

References

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1. Singer M. Toward a critical biosocial model of ecohealth in southern Africa: the HIV/AIDS and nutrition insecurity syndemic. Annals of Anthropological Practice. 2011;35(1):8–27.
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1. Farmer P. Social inequalities and emerging infectious diseases. Emerg Infect Dis. 1996 Oct-Dec;2(4):259–69. - PMC - PubMed

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Co-occurring epidemics, syndemics, and population health

Affiliations

Co-occurring epidemics, syndemics, and population health

Authors

Affiliations

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

Comment in

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Medical