A comorbidity is a secondary or additional disease or disorder that a person may have. People with dementia are often living with a number of comorbidities which are often undiagnosed, for example these might include conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.
Source: Poblador-Plou B et al (2014). Comorbidity of dementia: a cross-sectional study of primary care older patients. BMC Psychiatry. 2014;14:84. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-14-84.
Source: Browne J et al Association of comorbidity and health service usage among patients with dementia in the UK; a population-based study (2017)
Source: Scrutton, J and Brancati, CU (2016); Dementia and comorbidities; Ensuring parity of care from The International Longevity Centre supported by Pfizer
Source: Scrutton, J and Brancati, CU (2016); Dementia and comorbidities; Ensuring parity of care from The International Longevity Centre supported by Pfizer
Source: Bunn F et al (2016). Comorbidity and dementia: a mixed-method study on improving health care for people with dementia (CoDem). Health Serv Deliv Res 4(8)
Source: Bunn F et al (2016). Comorbidity and dementia: a mixed-method study on improving health care for people with dementia (CoDem). Health Serv Deliv Res 4(8)
Source: Browne J et al Association of comorbidity and health service usage among patients with dementia in the UK; a population-based study (2017)
This study found that for people with dementia, approximately one in six had visual impairment, diabetes and a stroke and over one-third had at least one of these additional health conditions.
Source: Bunn F et al (2016). Comorbidity and dementia: a mixed-method study on improving health care for people with dementia (CoDem). Health Serv Deliv Res 4(8)
In a separate report, the additional cost of several common comorbidities of dementia was estimated by comparing the cost of care for a person with dementia and the comorbidity as opposed to only the comorbidity.
Source: Scrutton, J and Brancati, CU (2016); Dementia and comorbidities; Ensuring parity of care from The International Longevity Centre supported by Pfizer