Old North News

There were 50 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending June 11, 2022, a 16.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 11, 2022, there were 1,701 deaths in the state. 20.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 22.5% were from cancer and 6.8% 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 June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	382	347
Heart disease	350	366
Cerebrovascular diseases	81	84
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	78	86
Alzheimer's disease	75	71
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	66	61
Diabetes mellitus	50	44
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	50	43
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	40
Influenza and pneumonia	25	19

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 11, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending June 4, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	206	165