Abstract
Comorbidity has been defined as the presence of two or more diseases in the same subject and it represents a peculiar clinical characteristic of elderly patients. Advanced age is characterized by the presence in the same subject of multiple diseases due to an age-related increased of chronic diseases. Several indexes has been proposed to evaluate the comorbidity in the elderly: CIRS (Cumulative Illness Rating Scale), Kaplan-Feinstein index, Charlson index, Index of coexistent diseases (ICED) and Geriatric index of comorbidity (GIC). These methods show some difficulties especially in the cognitive impaired elderly patients. In a study from "Osservatorio Geriatrico Campano", a region of Southern Italy, it has been demonstrated that comorbidity is strictly correlated to mortality by studying the prevalence of single disease and comorbidity. In the mean time, the interaction among disease determines a large increase of the mortality risk at 12 years follow-up. Thus, comorbidity should be always taken into account especially in age-related epidemiological studies.
| Translated title of the contribution | Comorbility in the elderly: Epidemiology and clinical features |
|---|---|
| Original language | Italian |
| Pages (from-to) | 267-272 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Giornale di Gerontologia |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2004 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ageing
- Geriatrics and Gerontology