Table 3.
Beliefs About Causes of Diabetes Mellitus
| Main Analytical Category 1 Number of Statements (n) | Subcategory | Quotation |
|---|---|---|
| Factors Related to the Individual (38) | ||
| Intake of sugar | ‘I didn’t know exactly, thought that it was because one used sugar or … ate too much chocolate or sweets … I used to drink coffee … with three spoons of sugar’ | |
| Heredity | ‘has to do with the family, my mother had diabetes and my sisters and brothers … ’ | |
| Heredity. 2 | ||
| Unhealthy dietary habits. 2 | ||
| Obesity. 2 | ||
| Pancreatic diseases. 2 | ||
| Inactivity. 2 | ||
| Infections. 2 | ||
| Pregnancy. 2 | ||
| Imbalance between warmth/cold or yin/yang. 2 | ||
| Factors Related to Nature (3) | ||
| Decreased pancreatic function due to intake of margarine. | ‘as the pancreas works less well and the production of insulin decreases. Since I came to Sweden 25 years ago and started to cook with margarine … it’s not good’. | |
| Intake of diuretics. 2 | ||
| Factors Related to the Social Sphere (12) | ||
| Stress2 | ||
| Disturbed relations to others, alive or dead. 2 | ||
| Factors Related to the Individual and Social Sphere (3) | ||
| The physician has informed about the cause | ‘… they said - the physician - it was this infection’ | |
| Experiences in the home country causing mental trauma | ‘… what I experienced in my home country. Such shocks where horror is involved … can cause big changes in the organism … mental illness, depressions …’ | |
| Factors Related to the Supernatural Sphere (4) | ||
| Fate 2 | ||
| Punishment from God 2 | ||
| Don’t Know (1) | ||
| No cause 1 | I can’t find any cause | |
1
Analytical categories according to the lay model of illness causation by Helman (2007) [15], in which causes of illness could be related to the individual, nature, social relations and/or the supernatural world.
2
Findings from discussions of a list of potential causes of diabetes mellitus.