Psychiatric comorbidity is when a patient is diagnosed with a mental disorder and another health condition. The term was first used in the medical community in the 1970s and is now used by psychiatrists to refer to cases where a patient meets the diagnostic criteria for more than one recognized mental disorder. Studying psychiatric comorbidity is important in mental health care to develop more effective treatment approaches. However, there is controversy surrounding the term, with critics arguing that some diagnoses may be different aspects of the same condition.
Psychiatric comorbidity occurs during a diagnosis by a board-certified psychiatrist. Typically, it refers to instances where a patient is diagnosed with a mental disorder along with another health condition. In modern times, this diagnosis usually encompasses two or more distinct mental disorders. Criteria for psychiatric comorbidity are typically derived from diagnostic manuals, although the phenomenon is controversial in some professional circles.
Comorbidity as a recognized occupational term didn’t really exist before the 1970s. The word was actually first used in the medical community. In this capacity, comorbidity described cases in which a patient could receive an initial medical diagnosis and also develop a different medical difficulty during or after this diagnosis. For example, a patient might have high blood pressure in addition to an ulcer.
Psychiatrists soon adopted the term as a point of reference. Occasionally, the term referred to a mental condition that existed alongside a physical condition. Modern psychiatric comorbidity usually refers to coexisting mental disorders, however. As such, the term was used for cases where a psychiatric patient met the diagnostic criteria for more than one recognized mental disorder. A word on such a phenomenon has become necessary as more psychiatric patients have received dual diagnoses.
Cases of psychiatric comorbidity are usually determined by traditional psychiatric diagnoses. Thus, psychiatrists become familiar with the symptomatology and criteria for different mental disorders, as outlined in professional manuals such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Such diagnoses are often reached through patient interviews and medically developed test evaluations. When more than one condition is involved, a patient may receive a primary diagnosis with a secondary condition. If the psychiatrist deems both disorders to be equally important, however, each disorder receives equal weight and distinction.
Studying psychiatric comorbidity is important in mental health care because some conditions occur together in a large proportion of cases. By understanding why these links exist, psychiatrists can better pinpoint the common origins of these conditions and develop more effective treatment approaches. Indeed, psychiatric disorders are often classified into larger groups due to their shared characteristics. For example, a patient might be diagnosed with both obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder, both of which are recognized as anxiety disorders.
Research suggests that over half of psychiatric patients have psychiatric comorbidity for at least two conditions. However, there is some controversy surrounding the term. Critics argue that what some psychiatrists diagnose as separate conditions may actually be different aspects of the same condition. Many mental disorders have similar symptoms, and the list of mental disorders included and excluded in officially recognized psychiatric diagnostic manuals is constantly evolving. The resulting diagnosis or overdiagnosis could potentially lead to ineffective or perhaps even harmful treatment approaches, especially when pharmaceuticals are involved.
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