Old North News

There were 18 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending July 10, a 20 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 10, there were 502 deaths in the state. 17.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3 percent were from cancer and 10 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7 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 2021-07-10	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	97	100
Heart disease	87	79
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	27	25
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	23	24
Alzheimer's disease	20	29
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	18	15
Cerebrovascular diseases	17	21
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	12

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-07-10	Number of Deaths 2021-07-03
Alzheimer disease and dementia	35	48