Palmetto State News

There were 37 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending Jan. 15, a 68.2 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 15, there were 650 deaths in the state. 16.9 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 14.2 percent were from cancer and 30.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.8 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 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Heart disease	110	105
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	105	63
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	92	56
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	92	77
Cerebrovascular diseases	39	11
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	37	22
Alzheimer's disease	26	17
Diabetes mellitus	19	18
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15	Number of Deaths 2022-01-08
Alzheimer disease and dementia	57	44