Comorbidities are distinct health conditions that are present at the same time.
They may exist together for many reasons, including shared causes and risk factors.
Comorbidities can increase your risk of complications or developing a new health issue altogether.
brankokosteski/ Getty Images
brankokosteski/ Getty Images
What Are Comorbidities?
A primary diagnosis is the main medical condition you’re being treated for.
Comorbidities are the other conditions you may have at the same time as the primary condition.
It is possible to have more than one comorbidity.
Comorbidities can change the way your primary condition is managed or treated.
It is also possible to have more than one comorbidity at the same time.
Conditions described as comorbidities can be physical or mental in nature.
They’re typically chronic (long-term) concerns.
There are a few different reasons conditions can exist side-by-side:
What is multimorbidity?
Shared Risk Factors
Many serious and common comorbidities occur because of shared risk factors.
In fact, the risk of a stroke is higher in the year following a heart attack.
Shared Causes
Many conditions are believed to have the same underlying cause.
Example:Lupusandrheumatoid arthritis
Both of these conditions areautoimmune.
So they may seem quite different.
However, experts suspectfibromyalgiaand IBS both involvecentral sensitization.
This means the central nervous system is hypersensitized and easy to irritate.
When sensitization affects the nerves, pain processing, and certain hormones/brain chemicals, it manifests as fibromyalgia.
When those elements affect the digestive organs, it manifests as IBS.
One Condition Causes the Other
Sometimes, one condition directly causes the other.
They’re two different diagnoses, but hypertension can lead directly to heart disease by damaging your arteries.
Example:Depressionand chronic illness
Depression is comorbid with most chronic illnesses.
Example: Obesity and many conditions
A condition that can directly lead to numerous and varied comorbidities is obesity.
It’s tied to approximately 236 medical problems.
A comorbidity is a health condition that occurs at the same time as another.
These issues may or may not have shared causes.
A complication is a direct consequence of a health condition, medication, or lack of treatment.
It’s also possible for a medication you take for one condition to cause a comorbidity.
Example: Hyponatremia
Hyponatremiais a condition involving abnormally low levels of sodium in your blood.
Coincidence
Coincidence is just two things happening that have nothing to do with each other.
For example, you may have a peanut allergy and a genetic eye disease that are unrelated.
Also, comorbidities that sometimes have a cause-and-effect relationship may at other times be coincidental.
Example: Diabetes and heart disease
Diabetes is a well-recognized cause of heart disease.
Excess blood sugar over time damages blood vessels and can lead to heart attack and stroke.
Example: Hypertension
Say you’re diagnosed with hypertension.
Having one condition may mean you should probably take extra precautions to prevent an infection.
Do comorbidities increase with age?
The number of comorbidities you have can go up as you get older.
This is because people tend to develop more health problems as they age.
Example: Autoimmune diseases
Say you have an autoimmune disease that affects your eyes and you develop joint pain.
What is the Charlson Comorbidities Index?
That helps healthcare providers determine how aggressively a condition needs to be treated.
Treatment
When you have comorbidities, it can complicate treatment and management.
Your healthcare team may monitor you more closely, as well.
In general, outcomes tend to be worse for people with comorbidities than for those with only one diagnosis.
Close medical oversight can help improve outcomes.
That includes prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and nutritional supplements.
verify every healthcare provider you see has a full, updated list of your medications and diagnoses.
This is the first step toward avoiding problems.
When it comes to combining medications, it’s important to stick to one pharmacy as much as possible.
Then your pharmacist can fulfill their intended role, which is to watch for potentially dangerous drug interactions.
It’s a good idea for you to be proactive about your treatment.
The Price of Illness
Healthcare costs tend to be higher for people with multiple comorbidities.
This is due to seeing more healthcare providers, needing more medical tests, and taking more medications.
Summary
Comorbidity means you have more than one illness at once.
It has many causes.
Sometimes, conditions are comorbid by coincidence.
Comorbidities are important for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Comorbid conditions may complicate each other or affect treatment and management strategies.
All of your healthcare providers need to know about all of your comorbidities and treatments.
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