Palmetto State News

There were 33 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending Jan. 22, a 17.5 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 22, there were 722 deaths in the state. 18.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 12.5 percent were from cancer and 39.3 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4 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 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	148	115
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	136	99
Heart disease	135	130
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	90	105
Cerebrovascular diseases	40	40
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	40
Alzheimer's disease	28	30
Diabetes mellitus	17	20
Influenza and pneumonia	10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-22	Number of Deaths 2022-01-15
Alzheimer disease and dementia	68	64