Zimbabwean diabetics' beliefs about health and illness: an interview study

Table 2 Causes of DM.

Main analytical category^a	Factor	Numbers (n)
Factors related to the individual	Heredity:	5	15^b
	'....both of my parents are diabetic. I inherited it from them'
	Wrong food:
	'...especially foods that contain too much sugar'	3	14⁶
	Treatment with drugs:
	'... the hydrochlorothiazide that I was taking'	5	5^b
	'..maybe anti-hypertensive drugs'
	Diseases of the pancreas: '...problems with the pancreas'	2	13^b
	Obesity^b		17^b
	Wrong dietary habit^b		14^b
	Disease of the pancreas^b		13^b
Factors related to the social sphere	Stress^b		8^b
	Disturbances in relations to others^b		5^b
Factors related to the supernatural sphere	Supernatural thoughts^b		3^b
	Punishment from God, or gods^b		3^b
	Witchcraft^b		4^b
	Fate^b		8^b

^aAnalytical categories according to the lay model of illness causation by Helman (2007).
^bExplanations of causes of DM evolved in discussions of a list of potential causes of DM.

ISSN: 1472-698X