noun
comorbidity
koh-mor-BID-ih-tee
Comorbidity (noun) means the presence of one or more additional medical or psychiatric conditions in a patient alongside a primary condition. Example: “Diabetes and hypertension are common comorbidities in older patients.”
noun
1
medicine The presence of one or more additional medical or psychiatric conditions in a patient alongside a primary condition.
"Diabetes and hypertension are common comorbidities in older patients."
"Depression is a frequent comorbidity of chronic pain."
2
medicine The general tendency of two conditions to occur together in the same person more often than chance would predict.
"Researchers are still untangling the comorbidity between ADHD and anxiety."
How to use comorbidity
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishHaving another illness at the same time as the main one.
When to use it
Technical medical vocabulary; it became widely familiar to the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Memory tip
Do not confuse morbidity with mortality: morbidity is illness, mortality is death.
Trace the full origin ↓
Easily confused with
Common pairings
underlying comorbidities
psychiatric comorbidity
high rate of comorbidity
comorbidity index
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Depression is a frequent _____ of chronic pain.
Etymology
A modern medical formation from co- 'together with' and morbidity, itself from Latin morbus 'disease'.
Synonyms
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co-occurring condition
coexisting illness
concurrent disorder
Rhymes for comorbidity
See all rhymes for comorbidity →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between comorbidity and multimorbidity?
Comorbidity describes other conditions in relation to one identified primary condition, so it implies a main diagnosis plus extras. Multimorbidity simply means a person has two or more long-term conditions, with none singled out as primary, and it is now preferred in general practice.
Does comorbidity mean the conditions cause each other?
No. It only means the conditions occur in the same person. They may share a cause, one may increase the risk of the other, or the overlap may be coincidental, and establishing which requires separate evidence.
Is comorbidity spelled with a hyphen?
Both comorbidity and co-morbidity are used. The unhyphenated form is now standard in most medical journals and style guides.
What is the meaning of comorbidity?
"comorbidity" (noun) means the presence of one or more additional medical or psychiatric conditions in a patient alongside a primary condition.
