Definition: Comorbid (co-mor'-bid): Two or more distinctly different disorders appearing at the same time and negatively impacting one another.
Example of use: Her obsessive-compulsive disorder is comorbid with a
major depression.
Example: Depression is often comorbid with alcoholism.
Example: Her research interest is the treatment of Learning Disorders
comorbid with dysthymia (a mild, long-term depression).
It's not unusual for people to have more than one diagnosis, but
sometimes the disorders affect or interact with one another,
presenting unique challenges to the clinician. Often when clinicians
talk about comorbid disorders, they're referring to a disorder that's
being complicated by substance abuse of some kind ( i.e. drug or
alcohol dependence or abuse).Many psychotherapists assume comorbidity always includes a substance
abuse problem unless you tell them otherwise.
Example: He has bipolar disorder comorbid with alcohol dependence. Or His bipolar disorder is comorbid with alcoholism.
A premorbid condition is something that existed before the diagnosis. You can also refer to premorbid function, but not premorbid factors. You would say predisposing (triggering) factors.