Morbidity is defined as the ratio of the number of deaths from a specific disease to the total number of cases of that disease. Which statement is correct?

Morbidity is defined as the ratio of the number of deaths from a specific disease to the total number of cases of that disease. Which statement is correct?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. It is the same as incidence
• D. It is the same as prevalence

Answer: (B)

Morbidity measures the occurrence and burden of disease in a population, not how many people die from it. It’s described by incidence (new cases over a time period) or prevalence (existing cases at a point or over a period). The ratio of deaths to the total number of cases is called the case fatality rate, which indicates how deadly the disease is among those who have it, not how widespread the disease is. For example, if 100 people contract a disease and 5 die, the case fatality rate is 5%. If 1,000 people live in the area and 100 have the disease at a certain time, the prevalence is 100/1000 (10%). If you’re tracking new cases over time, you’d look at incidence. So the statement is not correct because morbidity does not describe deaths divided by cases; that measure is case fatality rate.

Morbidity measures the occurrence and burden of disease in a population, not how many people die from it. It’s described by incidence (new cases over a time period) or prevalence (existing cases at a point or over a period). The ratio of deaths to the total number of cases is called the case fatality rate, which indicates how deadly the disease is among those who have it, not how widespread the disease is.

For example, if 100 people contract a disease and 5 die, the case fatality rate is 5%. If 1,000 people live in the area and 100 have the disease at a certain time, the prevalence is 100/1000 (10%). If you’re tracking new cases over time, you’d look at incidence. So the statement is not correct because morbidity does not describe deaths divided by cases; that measure is case fatality rate.