Morbidity and Mortality

Morbidity refers to a condition of being ill or unhealthy. It involves acute illnesses (that possess a sudden onset and improve or worsen in a very short period) and chronic illnesses (that is present and progresses slowly over a long time). Whereas, Mortality refers to a condition of being dead. Generally we hear mortality in terms of the number of deaths in a population over time, that may be in general or may be due to a specific cause. It is important to determine that morbidity may or may not lead to mortality. Both the terms morbidity and mortality are partially related but are not identical.

Morbidity

Morbidity represents the condition of being diseased or having disease, or to the amount of disease within a population. The term morbidity can  also be applied to any medical problem that is caused by treatment. The rate of morbidity shows how many people got a particular disease in a given community, at a specific geographical location during a particular period of time. It is used to  measure the risk that a person will suffer with a debilitating condition and affects their ability to function independently. A person is able to  survive for several years with one or more morbidities, and sometimes any  one morbidity may lead to the development of another morbidity.

Some common Morbidities

 Some common examples of morbidity is as follows:

• Heart disease

• Cancer

• Chronic lower respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma

• Stroke

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Diabetes

• Pneumonia and influenza

• Kidney disease

• Suicide

• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Seven out of the 10 major  causes of death are chronic or long-term diseases. These morbidities increase the risk of mortality.

The number of people with chronic or long-term diseases remains the same. In recent years, there has been an increase in infectious diseases. Moreover, the infectious disease indicates that morbidity numbers are rising.

Mortality

Mortality refers to a term that is used to calculate the number of people who have died within a population. It represents the incidence of death. It can be expressed as the number of deaths per 100 people per year. It can be measured with the help of systems like SAPA II and III, APACHE-II, Glasgow, Coma scale, etc. Just as we have mentioned above, it is important to identify that morbidities may or may not lead to mortality, that is one can have terminal lung cancer but dies of injuries after a road accident.

Excess Mortality

The number of deaths remains comparatively consistent in many populations from year to year. Moreover, deaths can increase when events like disease outbreaks, natural disasters, or war occur.

Simply, excess mortality is a comparison of the number of expected deaths versus the number of actual deaths that occurred. Currently COVID-19 is a cause of excess mortality world wide. According to the researchers the remaining excess deaths can be due to unrecognized COVID-19 or to other diseases caused via the pandemic, like interrupted access to regular healthcare.

Factors affecting morbidity and mortality rates

Factors which affect morbidity and mortality rates are written as follows:

• Severity of hemorrhage

• Degree of cerebral vasospasm

• Occurrence of rebleeding

• Presence of comorbid conditions (e.g, infections, myocardial infarction)

Prevention of Morbidities

Morbidity rates can come down if more people have early health screenings. Early diagnosis leads to a better quality of life. This early treatment, and diagnosis may help people recover faster.

If people are diagnosed and treated early, then they possess fewer complications. This also decreases their risk of dying from an illness.

Morbidity rates also decrease when people are educated and have access to good care. For example, a way to lower morbidity in pregnant women is to provide them with an access to family planning education. Safe abortions, prenatal care during pregnancy, and postpartum care after delivery has also proven to be helpful.

Conclusion

Morbidity and mortality doesn’t mean the same thing. Morbidity defines any condition that isn’t healthy. Mortality simply refers to death. A person can have more than one morbidity, and it may not raise their risk of mortality unless the morbidity gets worse over time. One can prevent a few morbidities by learning healthy habits and having regular health screenings. With this we come to an end of this topic. We hope you all were able to clear all your concepts regarding morbidity and mortality.