Old North News

There were 76 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, a 2.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 27, 2022, there were 1,915 deaths in the state. 18.5% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.8% were from cancer and 9.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.7% 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 Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	379	384
Heart disease	355	340
Cerebrovascular diseases	113	118
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	111	111
Alzheimer's disease	76	74
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	76	89
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	75	63
Diabetes mellitus	69	52
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	35
Influenza and pneumonia	24	18

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 27, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 20, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	205	196