Old North News

There were 66 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, a 26.9% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 24, 2022, there were 2,165 deaths in the state. 17.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.9% were from cancer and 8% 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 Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	410	397
Heart disease	386	397
Cerebrovascular diseases	131	114
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	107	89
Alzheimer's disease	97	65
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	93	90
Diabetes mellitus	69	60
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	66	52
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	51	31
Influenza and pneumonia	14	19

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 24, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 17, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	220	180