Definition
Comorbidity is the presence of more than one distinct condition in an individual (Valderas et al. 2009).
Description
Often, the term comorbidity refers to the presence of an index condition and other unrelated conditions (Starfield 2006). An index condition or disease describes the main condition under study (Ording and Sørensen 2013). Related terms, such as dual diagnosis and multimorbidity, are used in various clinical and research settings. Dual diagnosis is usually defined specifically as coexisting mental illness and substance or alcohol use disorders. Multimorbidity refers to the co-occurrence of multiple chronic or acute conditions in one person without identifying an index condition (Valderas et al. 2009). Depending on the setting and application of the concept, such as in clinical care, epidemiology, or health services planning and finances,...
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References and Further Readings
Collins, C., Hewson, D. L., Munger, R., Wade, T. (2013). Evolving models of behavioral health integration in primary care. Milbank Memorial Fund. Retrieved from http://www.milbank.org/uploads/documents/10430EvolvingCare/10430EvolvingCare.html
de Groot, V., Beckerman, H., Lankhorst, G. J., & Bouter, L. M. (2003). How to measure comorbidity: A critical review of available methods. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 56(3), 221–229.
Eaton, W. W. (2006). Medical and psychiatric comorbidity over the course of life. Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Kessler, R., Chiu, W., Demler, O., & Walters, E. (2005). Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of twelve-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 617–627.
Michelson, H., Bolund, C., & Brandberg, Y. (2000). Multiple chronic health problems are negatively associated with health related quality of life (HRQoL) irrespective of age. Quality of Life Research, 9(10), 1093–1104.
Ording, A. G., & Sørensen, H. T. (2013). Concepts of comorbidities, multiple morbidities, complications, and their clinical epidemiologic analogs. Clinical Epidemiology, 5, 199–203.
Rhee, S. H., Hewitt, J. K., Lessem, J. M., Stallings, M. C., Corley, R. P., & Neale, M. C. (2004). The validity of the Neale and Kendler model-fitting approach in examining the etiology of comorbidity. Behavior Genetics, 34(3), 251–265.
Starfield, B. (2006). Threads and yarns: Weaving the tapestry of comorbidity. The Annals of Family Medicine, 4(2), 101–103.
Valderas, J. M., Starfield, B., Sibbald, B., Salisbury, C., & Roland, M. (2009). Defining comorbidity: Implications for understanding health and health services. The Annals of Family Medicine, 7(4), 357–363.
Wright, N., Smeeth, L., & Heath, I. (2003). Moving beyond single and dual diagnosis in general practice: Many patients have multiple morbidities, and their needs have to be addressed. BMJ [British Medical Journal], 326, 512–514.
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Wachholtz, A., Gleyzer, E. (2016). Comorbidity. In: Gellman, M., Turner, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_860-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_860-2
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