WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE . . .

...between morbidity rate and mortality rate?

THE morbidity rate describes the number of new cases of a disease, or anything unhealthy, that occur within a timeframe.

This can refer to long-term chronic conditions such as cancer and diabetes, or shortterm acute illnesses such as flu and Covid-19.

The morbidity rate can also refers to the percentage of people who are suffering with a particular problem within a population. When someone is said to have co-morbidities, it means they have more than one condition.

The mortality rate refers to the proportion of people who die from a certain illness, injury or condition over a specific period. For example, a disease causing 100 deaths per one million people per year.