Old North News

There were 98 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending July 30, 2022, a 15.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 30, 2022, there were 1,932 deaths in the state. 18.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.1% were from cancer and 8.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.6% 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 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	408	377
Heart disease	353	362
Cerebrovascular diseases	108	114
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	100	113
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	98	85
Alzheimer's disease	70	85
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	65	70
Diabetes mellitus	58	58
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	36	29
Influenza and pneumonia	23	16

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	166	185