Rome – “We must consider this pandemic within a logic of syndemic” said Silvio Brusaferro over the weekend, commenting on the latest numbers of Covid in Italy. For the president of the ISS, a scenario is emerging in which “biological and social aspects interact and, in their interaction, the levels of risk and susceptibility of people and communities are also defined, which is exactly the goal of public health. “.
For syndemia, according to Treccani, we mean “the set of health, environmental, social and economic problems produced by the synergistic interaction of two or more communicable and non-communicable diseases, characterized by heavy repercussions, in particular on the disadvantaged population groups “. In other words, the impact of a given disease on the population is not only addressed from a health point of view, but also from a social one. “In this logic – said Brusaferro – the national health service has proved to be a very powerful, essential tool”.
The second disease is the one that each of us risks developing on our own for having neglected and postponed analyzes and visits due to the inadequacy of our national health system, which collapsed in the face of the health emergency. It will be different for each of those who develop it and, all together, they will form a second epidemic that will spill over into the public health sector in the coming months and years.