Old North News

There were 55 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending March 5, a 41.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 837 deaths in the state. 16.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.5% were from cancer and 15.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.1% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	163	192
Heart disease	137	163
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	76	130
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	55	94
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	61
Alzheimer's disease	47	43
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	42	49
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	24
Diabetes mellitus	16	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	93	95