Palmetto State News

There were 39 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending March 5, a 22% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 776 deaths in the state. 16.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.4% were from cancer and 14.8% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.1% 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 March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	143	153
Heart disease	127	175
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	62	128
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	53	102
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	47	43
Alzheimer's disease	39	50
Cerebrovascular diseases	29	46
Diabetes mellitus	19	23
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	15

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	86	95