Old North News

There were 41 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in North Carolina during the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, a 33.9% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, there were 2,149 deaths in the state. 18.7% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.1% were from cancer and 5% 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. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Heart disease	402	428
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	388	386
Cerebrovascular diseases	139	121
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	112	106
Alzheimer's disease	71	89
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	66	90
Diabetes mellitus	65	66
Influenza and pneumonia	41	53
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	41	35
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	41	62

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	202	203