Old North News

There were 11 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending November 20, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 20, there were 835 deaths in the state. 15.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.5 percent were from cancer and 21.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3 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 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	163	176
Heart disease	133	142
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	94	114
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	88	104
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	44
Alzheimer's disease	38	43
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	30	33
Diabetes mellitus	13	23
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20	Number of Deaths 2021-11-13
Alzheimer disease and dementia	78	100