Palmetto State News

There were 65 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, a 66.7% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Aug. 6, 2022, there were 1,117 deaths in the state. 17.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8% were from cancer and 7.3% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Heart disease	200	211
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	199	200
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	65	39
Cerebrovascular diseases	65	48
Alzheimer's disease	52	40
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	47	60
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	44
Diabetes mellitus	29	31
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Aug. 6, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending July 30, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	114	92