Palmetto State News

There were 57 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, a 14% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Sept. 10, 2022, there were 1,100 deaths in the state. 18.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.3% were from cancer and 7.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.5% 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 Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	212	191
Heart disease	201	182
Cerebrovascular diseases	60	53
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	57	50
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	53	52
Alzheimer's disease	36	52
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	34	35
Diabetes mellitus	31	31
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	17	19
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	12

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 10, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Sept. 3, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	104	119