11:02 AM 7/23/2020 - “When two or more diseases cluster, interact, and are driven by some bigger phenomenon,” they are known as “syndemics,” says Emily Mendenhall
“When two or more diseases cluster, interact, and are driven by some bigger phenomenon,” they are known as “syndemics ,” says Emily Mendenhall, a medical anthropologist at Georgetown University. COVID-19, for example, disproportionately affects people with heart disease and diabetes, but all of these illnesses are affected by inequity. America’s legacy of systemic racism means that Black people are more likely to live in poor neighborhoods, to have less access to nutritious food and good health-care, and to work in low-wage “essential” jobs that must continue even in a pandemic. These factors make Black people more prone to both chronic illness and COVID-19, which then exacerbate each other. The syndemic concept is important because it reminds us that diseases are not just the work of viruses and other pathogens. They are also influenced by every aspect of a society, from cultural values that affect whom it cares for and ignores, to political choices that determine how it