Representations and social imaginaries of type 2 diabetes mellitus from a structural perspective among men in Culiacán, Mexico.

Abstract

The objective was to determine the social representations and imaginaries of the diagnosis and etiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the population of men between 35 and 55 years of age in Culiacán, Sinaloa. A structural approach with a non-experimental design and a descriptive scope was used. Forty people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus participated. The results showed that the central core of the diabetes mellitus diagnosis category was primarily the concepts of death, amputations, blindness, and kidney problems. In category 2, the etiology of diabetes mellitus, we can find five central concepts: first, the concept of heredity, followed by the concepts of lifestyle, stress, misinformation, and sedentary lifestyle.