Palmetto State News

There were 58 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending October 16, a 9.4 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 16, there were 1,148 deaths in the state. 17.2 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.7 percent were from cancer and 35 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.4 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 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	209	328
Heart disease	197	190
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	193	301
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	180	207
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	58	53
Cerebrovascular diseases	55	57
Alzheimer's disease	46	45
Diabetes mellitus	16	34
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	13	19
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Alzheimer disease and dementia	96	97