Palmetto State News

There were 21 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending March 12, a 5% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 813 deaths in the state. 18.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.2% were from cancer and 13.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.1% 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 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	156	145
Heart disease	149	131
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	63	62
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	47	48
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	45	53
Alzheimer's disease	38	39
Cerebrovascular diseases	28	30
Diabetes mellitus	21	20
Influenza and pneumonia	11	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	82	86