Old North News

There were 90 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, a 15.4% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, there were 2,154 deaths in the state. 19.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.9% were from cancer and 7.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4% 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 Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Heart disease	428	399
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	386	426
Cerebrovascular diseases	121	120
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	106	94
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	90	78
Alzheimer's disease	89	96
Diabetes mellitus	66	61
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	62	55
Influenza and pneumonia	53	26
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	35	35

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 29, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	203	208