Palmetto State News

There were 51 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending September 4, a 5.6 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 4, there were 1,379 deaths in the state. 15.8 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 13.2 percent were from cancer and 51.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	367	346
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	344	326
Heart disease	218	177
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	182	202
Cerebrovascular diseases	69	52
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	51	54
Alzheimer's disease	43	36
Diabetes mellitus	35	32
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	16

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Alzheimer disease and dementia	107	96