Old North News

There were 186 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending April 23, 2022, a 15.8% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending April 23, 2022, there were 851 deaths in the state. 18.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.9% were from cancer and 3.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 12.2% 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 April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	186	221
Heart disease	155	167
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	56
Cerebrovascular diseases	44	55
Alzheimer's disease	41	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	23	21
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	17	31
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	13	16
Diabetes mellitus	12	17
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending April 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending April 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	104	82