Morbidity and Mortality
The terms Morbidity and Mortality are often used interchangeably, but though they are related, do not have the same meaning. So, what do morbidity and mortality mean?
While morbidity refers to the state of the unhealthiness of an individual, mortality means the state of being mortal.
In addition to this, both terms can be applied to describe an individual or population. Therefore, when we say the mortality rate of a country, we mean the number of deaths in a country at a time. Similarly, the morbidity rate of a state means the frequency of diseases each year.
Let us examine Morbidity and Mortality Meaning and Importance in Detail
Morbidity Rate
The word morbid means a state of being diseased or sick. Moreover, the term comorbidity means two or more conditions that affect a person at the same time. Thus, the rate of morbidity can be defined as the frequency of individuals infected with a disease or infected at a given time.
The morbidity rate is measured on two points, prevalence and incidence. Prevalence in this context refers to the percentage of the population affected by a disease. Incidence refers to the rate at which individuals are developing an infection.
This rate enables doctors, researchers, scientists, and other health personnel to determine the prevalence of significant diseases in an area, as well as track new illnesses. The diseases can be either acute or chronic.
Acute and Chronic Diseases
Acute illnesses are those which affect a person suddenly and progress rapidly. It also lasts for a short period only. Some acute conditions may require emergency medical attention. Examples of acute diseases are – influenza, appendicitis, pneumonia, asthma etc.
On the other hand, chronic diseases are those that last for an extended period of three months or more. Unlike acute illnesses, chronic diseases cannot be cured with vaccinations. However, they can be controlled, prevented and in some cases cured by medicines, proper treatment and following other restrictions daily. Some examples of chronic diseases are – arthritis, cancer, heart disease and so on.
Hence, based on information from morbidity rate, authorities can adopt necessary measures such as arranging for medicines, vaccines, researching cures to prevent both morbidity and mortality in the short term and eradicating the disease or infection in the long run.
The morbidity rate reflects the quality of health and life of residents of a country.
Mortality Rate
The mortality rate is the rate of death per 1000 individuals in a particular country. There can be various underlying causes of death of human beings. Accordingly, there are different mortality rates. For example, the infant mortality rate is used to ascertain the number of children who died before turning one year old. Similarly, there are maternal mortality rates and mortality rates based on age.
Data scientists use different mortality rates to determine the causes of most deaths in an area. It may be due to disease, poor health conditions and various other social reasons. Hence morbidity and mortality statistics need to be studied together to make an informed decision regarding the state of healthcare of a city or the country.
The Table Below Summarizes the Differences between Morbidity and Mortality
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Morbidity Vs Mortality
Morbidity is referred to as that state where someone is not healthy. It can be used to explain all the people that were affected by the disease in a particular area. The rate of morbidity is referred to the number of people that were affected by a disease. This can be extremely helpful for managing risk factors and also adopting new health systems to reduce morbidity in the population and keeping a healthy functioning population. On the other hand, mortality is the number of deaths in an area. It can be explained as the number of deaths that occur in 100 people per year. It is measured by different scales. For example, Glasgow and coma scales. Thus, morbidity is used to describe the state of being unhealthy and mortality defines the state of being mortal. Furthermore, both the terms mortality and morbidity can be used to describe the individual or a population in an area. Thus, when we talk about the mortality rate of a country we mean the number of deaths that have occurred there. And morbidity rate defines the state of how much the diseases are frequent in a year. Both mortality rate and morbidity rate can be ambiguous but they mean different things. Both of these are considered to improve the healthcare systems of a country and thus, maintain the healthy and proper functioning of the population.
FAQs on Difference Between Morbidity and Mortality
1. What is the Morbidity Rate?
Morbid can be defined as the state of being sick or unhealthy. The morbidity rate can be defined as the number or frequency the individual or population is getting infected at a given amount of time, say, a year. This rate is measured considering two points. They are prevalence and incidence. Prevalence can be defined as the percentage of the population which is affected by the illness. On the other hand, incidence refers to the rate at which the individuals or the populations are developing the illness. The illness can be chronic or acute.
2. What is the Meaning of Mortality Rate?
Mortality rate can be defined as the rate which gives the death of individuals when a population of 1000 is considered. There can be various underlying reasons for such deaths in the populations and thus, there are different mortality rates for different populations. The reasons for death can be due to illness, poor health conditions and other social reasons. The mortality and morbidity rates are measured and studied so that there is room for improvement in the healthcare facilities of a country.
3. What is the Difference Between Morbidity and Mortality Rate?
The terms Morbidity and mortality are related but do not have the same meaning. Morbidity rate is the rate at which individuals get affected with a disease within a year’s time. On the other hand, mortality rate is used to ascertain the frequency of deaths per 1000 people.
4. What are Acute and Chronic Diseases?
Acute diseases are diseases that can affect an individual suddenly and gradually increase it. It lasts for a short duration but some of the conditions that are caused due to acute illness may require immediate medical attention. Examples of this disease are - influenza, asthma and pneumonia. On the other hand, chronic diseases last for a longer period i.e. for 3 months or even more. The chronic illness or disease cannot be cured by vaccinations and can only be controlled and treated with some medicines and restrictions in day-to-day life. Examples are cancer, heart disease and arthritis.
5. What is Comorbidity?
Comorbidity is the condition where more than one disease occurs together in an individual along with a primary health condition. The primary condition can be psychological or physiological and the individual is affected by other disorders along with that condition. Thus, it is the co-occurrence of many illnesses or disorders together in an individual. When we talk about mental disorders, it can be the coexistence of conditions like anxiety and depression. Another example is diabetes mellitus where there is an occurrence of coronary artery disease too.
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