Comorbidity

 

How do you Measure Comorbidity?

Comormidity indices can be used to measure severity.

The Charlson comorbidity index is based on diagnostic codes and assigns weights to 17 comorbid conditions. (D'Hoore, Bouckaert, and Tilquin, 1996)

The chronic disease score measures outpatient drug prescriptions and is calculated by assigning weights to 26 medication classes corresponding to 17 comorbidity categories. (Von Korff, Wagner, and Saunders, 1992)

For both, weights are added to determine overall comorbidity score. Combining both may reduce confounding bias. (Schneeweiss, Wang, Avorn, et al, 2004)