Palmetto State News

There were 24 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, a 4% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 15, 2022, there were 1,045 deaths in the state. 18.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1% were from cancer and 5.6% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.3% 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 Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	200	224
Heart disease	194	216
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	52
Cerebrovascular diseases	51	60
Diabetes mellitus	39	27
Alzheimer's disease	38	42
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	35	38
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	25
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	22	20
Influenza and pneumonia	13	< 10

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 8, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	97	120