Charlson Comorbidity Index
Weighted sum of comorbid conditions with an age adjustment. Yields an estimate of ten-year survival.
Updated · Methodology
Diabetes with end-organ damage replaces the uncomplicated form, metastases replace a localised tumour and severe liver disease replaces the mild form: one organ is never counted twice.
About this calculator
The index reduces comorbidity to a single number, weighting each condition by its contribution to one-year mortality in the original 1984 cohort. One point each for myocardial infarction, heart failure, peripheral arterial disease, cerebrovascular disease, dementia, chronic lung disease, connective tissue disease, peptic ulcer, mild liver disease and diabetes without end-organ damage. Two points each for hemiplegia, moderate or severe renal disease, diabetes with end-organ damage, localised solid tumour, leukaemia and lymphoma. Three points for moderate or severe liver disease, six points for metastatic disease and AIDS. A severe form replaces the mild one instead of adding to it, so one organ is never counted twice. The age adjustment adds a point per decade above 50, up to five. The survival estimate follows Charlson's formula and refers to a cohort forty years old: treatment of many of these conditions has changed since, so the number suits group comparison and stratification rather than a prognosis conversation with an individual patient.
Source
Formula version: charlson-1987-age-1994-v1
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