Old North News

There were 19 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending June 5, a 5.6 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 5, there were 436 deaths in the state. 14.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 16.7 percent were from cancer and 20.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6 percent of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	73	60
Heart disease	65	52
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	46	68
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	43	62
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	12
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	19	18
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	12

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-06-05	Number of Deaths 2021-05-29
Alzheimer disease and dementia	26	31