Old North News

There were 350 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending October 9, a 19 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 9, there were 1,166 deaths in the state. 12.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.5 percent were from cancer and 61.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.7 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 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	364	455
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	350	432
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	169	156
Heart disease	150	142
Alzheimer's disease	42	38
Cerebrovascular diseases	41	51
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	26
Diabetes mellitus	19	18
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	14
Influenza and pneumonia	10	10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
Alzheimer disease and dementia	78	77