Palmetto State News

There were 25 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina in the week ending Dec. 17, making up 2.6% of total deaths by all causes in South Carolina, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 17, there were 976 deaths in the state. 20.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19% were from cancer and 6.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.2% 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	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	201	20.6
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	185	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	54	5.5
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	5.4
Alzheimer's disease	46	4.7
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	38	3.9
Diabetes mellitus	28	2.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	25	2.6
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	1.8
Influenza and pneumonia	17	1.7

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	109	11.2