What Are the Main Differences Between Morbidity and Mortality?
Morbidity is the condition of being ill or unhealthy. It may include acute illnesses (which have a sudden onset and improve or worsen in a short period) and chronic illnesses (which can present and progress slowly over a long time). Mortality is the condition of being dead. We usually hear mortality in terms of the number of deaths in a population over time, either in general or due to a specific cause. It is essential to identify that morbidity may or may not lead to mortality. The terms morbidity and mortality are partially related but not identical.
What is Morbidity?
Morbidity refers to the condition of being diseased or having disease, or to the amount of disease within a population. Morbidity also applies to the medical problems caused by treatment. The morbidity rate studies how many people got a particular disease in a specific community, at a specific geographical location during a particular period. Morbidity measures the risk that a person will love with a debilitating condition that can impact their ability to function independently. A person can survive for several years with one or more morbidities, and one morbidity may lead to another morbidity.
What is the Meaning of Mortality?
Mortality is the term used to calculate the number of people who died within a population? It refers to the incidence of death. It is expressed as the number of deaths per 100 people per year. It is measured with the help of systems such as SAPA II and III, APACHE-II, Glasgow, Coma scale, etc. Like we mentioned above, it is necessary to identify that morbidities may or may not lead to mortality, that is one could have terminal lung cancer but die of injuries after a road accident.
As mentioned above morbidity and mortality are not identical so read on to explore the difference between morbidity and mortality:
Difference between Morbidity and Mortality?
Morbidity and Mortality Statistics
Morbidity and mortality statistics on solvent abuse – a retrospective study of newspaper reports on solvent abuse shows that many individuals had been hospitalized or had died. A subsequent survey of hospital records demonstrated that only a tiny proportion of both hospital casualties and inpatients were found to have been involved in solvent abuse. No morbidity appeared to have resulted from the practice in Lanarkshire. Summing up, 45 deaths from solvent abuse occurred in Britain between 1970 and January 1977.
Some morbidities are cancer, heart disease, stroke, influenza, suicide whereas some instances of mortalities would be infant mortality rate, crude mortality, maternal mortality and so forth.
Viral Hepatitis: A descriptive epidemiology based on morbidity and mortality statistics – viral hepatitis has recently gained increasing recognition as one of the most important infectious disease problems in the United States. Two separate entities are included under this term, one is infectious hepatitis which has caused widespread outbreaks in this country from time to time during the past century 51 or longer and the second one is serum hepatitis which is excellent in resembling infectious hepatitis clinically.
Solved Examples
Question:What are the Top Leading Causes of Morbidity?
Answer:
1. Acute Respiratory infection
2. Acute lower respiratory tract infection
3. Bronchitis
4. Hypertension
5. Influenza
6. TB respiratory
Did You Know
1. Nearly 1% of the world's population is newly infected with tuberculosis each year.
2. Tuberculosis kills approximately 2 million people each year.
3. HIV and tuberculosis is a lethal combination, each speeding the other's progress.
4. Malaria takes the life of an African child every 30 seconds.
5. Malaria causes more than 300 million acute illnesses.
6. 20% of the global population is at risk of contracting malaria.
Conclusion
Learning about Morbidity and Mortality will allow students and young adults to be prepared for health inconveniences and seek medication accordingly.
FAQs on Morbidity and Mortality in Biology: Meaning, Differences & Examples
1. What is morbidity in the context of public health and biology?
In public health and biology, morbidity refers to the state of being diseased, ill, or unhealthy. It measures the prevalence of a specific illness or condition within a population. It focuses on the incidence of diseases and their impact on people's health, rather than death. For example, the number of people with diabetes in a country represents the morbidity of that disease.
2. What does mortality refer to, and how is it typically measured?
Mortality refers to the state of being subject to death. In population studies, it is the measure of the number of deaths in a particular population over a specific period. It is commonly measured using the mortality rate (or death rate), which is often expressed as the number of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year. This helps in understanding the severity of diseases and overall public health.
3. What is the main difference between morbidity and mortality?
The main difference between morbidity and mortality lies in what they measure:
- Morbidity refers to the condition of being ill or having a disease. It is a measure of sickness or illness rates within a population.
- Mortality refers to the occurrence of death. It is a measure of the death rate within a population.
In simple terms, morbidity is about getting sick, while mortality is about dying from sickness or other causes.
4. Is a disease like Malaria an example of morbidity or mortality?
A disease like Malaria is an example of both. When a person contracts Malaria and suffers from symptoms like fever, chills, and fatigue, they are experiencing morbidity. If the disease becomes severe and leads to the person's death, it contributes to the mortality statistics for Malaria. Therefore, Malaria causes morbidity in all infected individuals and, unfortunately, mortality in some.
5. Can a person have multiple morbidities at the same time?
Yes, a person can have multiple morbidities, which means they can suffer from two or more chronic diseases or conditions simultaneously. This condition is known as comorbidity. For example, a patient having both diabetes and high blood pressure is a case of comorbidity. This often complicates treatment and management as the conditions can interact with each other.
6. Why is it important for health organisations to track both morbidity and mortality rates?
Tracking both rates is crucial for a complete picture of public health. Morbidity data helps health organisations understand the prevalence of diseases, plan for healthcare needs (like hospitals and clinics), and implement preventive measures. Mortality data, on the other hand, indicates the severity and deadliness of diseases, helps evaluate the effectiveness of treatments, and highlights urgent health crises that need immediate intervention.
7. How are morbidity rates for a disease typically expressed?
Morbidity rates are generally expressed in two main ways:
- Incidence Rate: This measures the number of new cases of a disease that develop in a specific population during a specific time period. It helps understand the risk of contracting the disease.
- Prevalence Rate: This measures the total number of existing cases (both new and old) of a disease in a specific population at a particular point in time. It helps understand the overall burden of the disease in the community.
8. How do maternal morbidity and maternal mortality differ in their meaning?
Maternal morbidity refers to any health problems or complications experienced by a woman during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of delivery, that are not fatal. This includes conditions like gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia. In contrast, maternal mortality refers to the death of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of the termination of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy.
