Comorbidity

As comorbidity or concomitant disease (English comorbidity ) are in medicine or more in addition to an underlying disease ( disease index ) present, diagnostically identifiable disease or disorder refers to images (double or multiple diagnosis). Comorbidities may, but need not - in terms of a secondary disease - causally related to the underlying disease. Thus, if a patient with an Alzheimer's disease has urica same complaints from arthritis, or prostate cancer occurs with concomitant diabetes mellitus, it is called comorbidity.

A particular difficulty in the determination of comorbidities is the question of what additional findings seen as symptoms and they are assigned if so, which disease or what diseases.

Comorbidities occur more frequently with increasing age. Thus, in 40% of patients can be diagnosed with colon cancer five or more comorbidities. It is crucial that in the treatment of disease, the presence of other diseases is taken into account, as they may affect the success of treatment and overall survival significantly and the patient's overall well-being is primarily in the foreground.

Especially in the area of mental disorders according to DSM- IV multiple diagnoses come often. So turns out that in a problematic substance use (or addictions ) heaped depression, anxiety and panic disorder and dysthymia can be demonstrated. Here again, so that no statement is made ​​as to whether and how that fault for the occurrence of the other is to blame. It is gone so far as to emphasize that the (frequent ) limit neglect these facts because of their devastating consequences of medical malpractice. The simultaneous occurrence of physical and psychological disorders leads to poorer treatment outcomes, worsens the prognosis of each individual disease and affects the overall quality of life significantly.

If diagnosed in a patient many additional diseases, is spoken by a multi-morbidity.