What Does Comorbidity Mean?

What it means

Comorbidity means having more than one health condition at the same time. For example, a person admitted for a broken hip might also have diabetes and high blood pressure; those are comorbidities. They can be long-term conditions, like asthma or kidney disease, or a mental health condition alongside a physical one.

Doctors record comorbidities because they can affect which treatments are safe, how long recovery takes, and what needs to be monitored. A surgeon planning an operation, for instance, needs to know about heart or lung conditions, and a pharmacist needs to know about kidney or liver problems before choosing medicines. On insurance and billing paperwork, listed comorbidities can also help explain why care was more complex.

Comorbidities are very common, especially as people get older. The word is close to 'underlying condition'. It differs from a complication, which is a new problem caused by an illness or treatment, and from 'past medical history', which can also include problems that have fully resolved.

Where you may see it

• Discharge summaries and hospital admission notes
• Pre-operative assessment forms
• Referral letters between doctors
• Insurance claims and hospital coding records