Intellectual Disability: Comorbidity
Dr. Patty Davis was published in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Intellectual and Developmental Disorders. Her contribution was titled Intellectual Disability: Comorbidity. Dr. Rafael Castro was also published in that same volume; his contribution is titled Intellectual Disability, History of.
In: The SAGE Encyclopedia of Intellectual and Developmental Disorders
Edited by: Ellen B. Braaten
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483392271.n261
Subject: Developmental Disorders, Learning Disabilities, Learning Disabilities
The core concept of comorbidity (derived from the Latin words co and morbidus, and approximately translated as “along with diseased condition”) is the presence of more than one distinct condition in an individual. However, comorbidity is more commonly defined in relation to one specific primary condition, referred to as the index condition, and includes any distinct additional entity that has existed or may occur during the clinical course of a patient who has the index condition under study. The choice of which condition to designate as “index” and which conditions to designate as “comorbid” may vary depending on the research question or clinical situation and does not imply causality, temporal relationship, or relative importance of the conditions. The nature of comorbidity may include diseases, disorders, …
