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Cited by 52Ovarian function and disordersReproductive Health and TechnologiesGender, Health, and Social Inequality

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Polycystic ovary syndrome in globalizing India: An ecosocial perspective on an emerging lifestyle disease

Pathak, Gauri, Nichter, Mark·2015·Social Science & Medicine
DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.10.007
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Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder linked to type II diabetes and the leading cause of female infertility worldwide. Despite being considered a "lifestyle" disease, PCOS has received scant attention in the social science literature. In India, media accounts citing prominent doctors have expressed concern that the syndrome affects a growing number of urban middle-class Indian women. The general public, doctors, and afflicted women all attribute the condition to stress, lifestyle changes, "Westernization," modernization, and disrupted circadian rhythms. These factors are associated with changes in diets, gender roles, and aspirations since 1991, when the introduction of neoliberal reforms opened up the country to processes of globalization. Women with PCOS have come to be seen as living embodiments of the biosocial stresses associated with modern urban middle-class living, and discourse about PCOS serves as commentary indexing anxieties about social and political-economic shifts in the country. In this paper, based on ethnographic fieldwork in Mumbai, India, with 141 participants from 2012 to 2014, we point to local understanding of PCOS as corresponding to an ecosocial perspective that highlights the structural vulnerabilities of urban middle-class women. Whereas most research on structural vulnerabilities and health has centered on economically and otherwise disadvantaged groups, we use PCOS as a case study to draw attention to the rise of lifestyle disorders linked to the impact of globalization and the pressures of "modern" identities and aspirations among middle-class populations.

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Metadata

Authors
Pathak, G., & Nichter, M.
Affiliations
University of Arizona (US)
Corresponding author
Pathak, Gauri
ORCID
Venue
Social Science & Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-12
Volume
146
Pages
21-28
ISSN
0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.10.007
OpenAlex
W2146933876
Cited by
52
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
FWCI
2.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Ovarian function and disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Reproductive Health and Technologies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Gender, Health, and Social Inequality
Keywords
polycystic ovary syndrome, lifestyle-related diseases, globalization, neoliberal reforms, structural vulnerability, Westernization, circadian rhythm, gender roles, modernity, health discourse, Mumbai, India
MeSH terms
Adult, Anthropology, Cultural, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Female, Humans, India, Infertility, Female, Interviews as Topic, Life Style, Male, Middle Aged, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Social Class, Prevalence, Internationality

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