Old North News

There were 92 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, a 16.5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 2,122 deaths in the state. 20.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.8% were from cancer and 6.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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 Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Heart disease	433	386
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	420	393
Cerebrovascular diseases	103	118
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	92	79
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	87	81
Alzheimer's disease	83	68
Diabetes mellitus	68	76
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	45	46
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	37	44
Influenza and pneumonia	18	33

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	207	188