Palmetto State News

There were 44 deaths with COVID-19 listed as a contributing cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending July 23, 2022, a 2.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 23, 2022, there were 873 deaths in the state. 18.2% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.4% were from cancer and 8.2% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% 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 July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	161	220
Heart disease	159	191
Cerebrovascular diseases	49	44
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	44	43
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	45
Alzheimer's disease	34	40
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	28	28
Diabetes mellitus	16	26
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 16, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	74	95