morbidity
n.the state of being sick or the rate at which people in a group are ill. It is often used to describe how common a specific disease is in a certain area.
n.the state of being ill or the prevalence of a specific disease within a population. Often used in medical statistics to measure the frequency of a condition.
“The hospital reported a high rate of morbidity this year.”
“Public health officials are tracking the morbidity of the flu to determine if a new vaccine is needed.”
“While the mortality rate remained stable, the rising morbidity of chronic respiratory diseases highlighted the urgent need for improved urban air quality standards.”
“Heat exposure has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, especially among women, a major review , external of studies on the effects of heat exposure found.”
Recorded since 1721; from morbid + -ity, from Latin morbidus (“diseased”), from morbus (“disease”), from the root of morī (“to die”) or from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to rub, pound, wear away”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.