What does "Co-Morbid" mean ?

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My son was diagnosed with ADHD, what does Co-Morbid mean ?

Co-morbid means a condition that occurs along with a primary condition. So, he could have ADHD with a co-morbid of Sensory Integration Disorder that would explain the other symptoms not explained by ADHD alone.

Does that mean if he already has been diagnosed with having Asperger Syndrome years ago, and just now diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, he is "Co-Morbid" ??

Is there anything else you can tell me / educate me on this ?
I really appreciate it ! !!

Yep - that's what it means.

I guess it's the term "morbid" that makes me curious
He is 9 yrs old, but I am constantly learning about these diagnosis.
Thank God, there is a place like WrongPlanet ! !! !! !! !! !! !

... and that means the *conditions* are "co-morbid", not him.

The term is kind of morbid, isn't it? I was thinking, the first time I heard it, does it mean, "with death? or until death? Hand and hand with death?" I guess we've lost or don't use the meaning of the term in it's root state enough.

There is an argument amongst some that ADHD should/shouldn't even be listed as a "co-morbid" because AS in and of itself can account for hyperactivity, inattention, etc. My daughter's DX is just AS (well she has a co-morbid of Dev Coord Disorder but that is beyond what is seen in just AS) with the remarks of "inattention, ...... issues are present within the context of the Pervasive Developmental Disorder-AS". In other words, her symptoms of ADHD can be explained by the AS. Perhaps he needed the seperate ADHD dx to qualify him for certain prescription meds? The way the psych/health insurance world works is very confusing, but then so is the whole "spectrum" itself.

Co-morbid derives from latin I am sure, so don't fret about the term "morbid". It is not meaning "death" in this case. You can look up co-morbid in Wikipedia for more info.

mor·bid/ˈmôrbəd/Adjective
1. Characterized by or appealing to an abnormal and unhealthy interest in disturbing and unpleasant subjects, esp. death and disease.
2. Of the nature of or indicative of disease.
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Co-Morbid = Co-existing Unpleasant side-subject

The D in DSM-IV stands for diagnosis, but they are really a sugestive list of behaviors that combined in certain percentile brackets lead to potential diagnostics.

They are not scientific in the sense of being able to physically identify, measure,isolate and treat with a high accuracy rate, they are more of a tool to help study cases and to try different treatments based on observations over long periods of time. They are by no means actual diagnosis as you would have for any other type of medical condition.

The term co-morbid is used when there are two diagnoses with overlapping symptoms and both issues are severe enough to justify their own diagnosis because neither one is simply a symptom of the other. The co-morbid term is pointed out and emphasized because the symptoms of the two diagnosis stack on top of each other magnifying the issue more than would happen if only one or the other was present.

I was diagnosed as aspergers and was told that my levels of anxiety & ADHD, were consistent with simply being part of aspergers and were not severe enough to qualify on there own as additional diagnoses, but that if the severity of them were worse that they would be diagnosed as additional disorders. Whereas my depression is beyond what normal for aspergers so it justifies it's own separate diagnosis (and is a co-morbid).

Thanks for that excellent explanation, parrow ! !! !!