Palmetto State News

There were 27 deaths with diabetes mellitus listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending July 30, 2022, a 68.8% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending July 30, 2022, there were 987 deaths in the state. 19.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 18.3% were from cancer and 9.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.8% 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 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Heart disease	193	162
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	181	162
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	57	44
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	49
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	41	28
Alzheimer's disease	33	34
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	33	36
Diabetes mellitus	27	16
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	20	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 23, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	77	76