Old North News

There were 160 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending March 12, a 9.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 836 deaths in the state. 15% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1% were from cancer and 11.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.1% 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 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	160	177
Heart disease	125	158
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	64	82
Cerebrovascular diseases	53	55
Alzheimer's disease	49	50
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	45	42
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	61
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	17
Diabetes mellitus	12	18
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	101	96