Old North News

There were 57 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending July 16, 2022, a 5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 16, 2022, there were 1,836 deaths in the state. 19.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.6% were from cancer and 7.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.7% 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 July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	360	393
Heart disease	358	367
Cerebrovascular diseases	95	119
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	83	85
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	81	91
Alzheimer's disease	69	70
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	57	60
Diabetes mellitus	52	63
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	32
Influenza and pneumonia	17	21

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 9, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	178	188