Old North News

There were 62 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, a 37.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 2,106 deaths in the state. 18.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19% were from cancer and 7.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	401	420
Heart disease	391	433
Cerebrovascular diseases	126	103
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	113	87
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	88	92
Alzheimer's disease	76	83
Diabetes mellitus	70	68
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	62	45
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	44	37
Influenza and pneumonia	30	18

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	196	207