Comorbidity

comorbidity, in medicine, a disease or condition that coexists with but often is independent of another disease or condition. A comorbidity is sometimes considered to be a secondary diagnosis, having been recognized during or after treatment for the principal diagnosis, or the condition that prompted a visit to a physician, a hospital admission, or rehabilitation. Although sometimes discovered after the principal diagnosis, comorbidities often have been present or developing for some time. Examples include diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), psychiatric disorders, or substance abuse.

Comorbidities tend to increase a person’s need for health care and the cost of care while decreasing the person’s ability to function in the world. However, they can be more or less severe. For example, congestive heart failure as a comorbidity in a rehabilitation patient can be mild and not interfere with the patient’s care or activity level, or it can be severe, leaving the patient weak and unable to do almost any activity. In the latter case, the process of effecting rehabilitation becomes complicated, and the cost of care rises.