The signs of stress: Embodiments of biosocial stress among type 2 diabetic women in New Delhi, India

Lesley Jo Weaver, Carol M. Worthman, Jason A. DeCaro and S.V. Madhu

Social Science & Medicine, 2015, vol. 131, issue C, 122-130

Abstract: Biocultural models of health and illness are increasingly used to trace how social pathways shape biological outcomes. Yet, data on the interactions between social and biological aspects of health are lacking in low- and middle-income regions, where two-thirds of all type 2 diabetes cases occur. This study explored health, social roles, and biological correlates among a group of 280 type 2 diabetic and non-diabetic women (n = 184 diabetic) in New Delhi, India, between 2009 and 2011. Using a biocultural framework, we developed and tested a series of hypotheses about the relationships that might exist between diabetes, psychological distress, social role fulfillment, and biological markers measuring blood sugar control, generalized inflammation, and immune stress. Although blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels indicated that women's diabetes was generally poorly controlled, they lacked the elevated inflammation, immune stress, and mental ill health that often accompany uncontrolled blood sugar. Qualitative work on explanatory models of diabetes and gendered models of appropriate behavior demonstrated that despite living with poorly controlled diabetes, women maintain participation in culturally valued roles involving the care of others. We suggest that behavioral congruence with these gendered roles may buffer diabetic women's mental health and perhaps even their long-term physical health, while simultaneously posing challenges for their diabetes self-care. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the experience of type 2 diabetes in India from an integrated biocultural perspective.

Keywords: India; Type 2 diabetes; Mental health; Biocultural anthropology; Mixed methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953615001380
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:131:y:2015:i:c:p:122-130

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
http://www.elsevier. ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.03.002

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian

More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().