Old North News

There were 78 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, a 11.4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 29, 2022, there were 2,090 deaths in the state. 19.1% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.4% were from cancer and 6.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10% 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. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	426	401
Heart disease	399	391
Cerebrovascular diseases	120	126
Alzheimer's disease	96	76
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	94	113
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	78	88
Diabetes mellitus	61	70
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	55	62
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	35	44
Influenza and pneumonia	26	30

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	208	196