Old North News

There were 74 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, a 13.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 20, 2022, there were 1,908 deaths in the state. 17.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.9% were from cancer and 8.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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 Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	380	379
Heart disease	337	356
Cerebrovascular diseases	116	114
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	109	107
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	88	92
Alzheimer's disease	74	65
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	61	72
Diabetes mellitus	49	57
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	35	35
Influenza and pneumonia	18	22

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 13, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	194	192