Contextualizebeta

syndemic

noun

Etymology

Coined by Merrill Singer in the mid-1990s. Blend of synergy + demic (“of a population”). Compare epidemic (literally “upon the people”).

  1. derived from δῆμος
  2. suffixed as demic — “deme + ic”
  3. compounded as syndemic — “synergy + demic”

Definitions

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

    • In sum malnutrition, infectious disease, and cognitive impairment constitute a syndemic that is rooted in and perpetuates suboptimal social, political, and economic conditions.
    • The aggregation of these diseases on a background of social and economic disparity exacerbates the adverse effects of each separate disease. COVID-19 is not a pandemic. It is a syndemic.

  2. Describing such a situation

    • The syndemic nature of the threat we face means that a more nuanced approach is needed if we are to protect the health of our communities.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for syndemic. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA