Palmetto State News

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in South Carolina during the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Nov. 12, 2022, there were 1,147 deaths in the state. 20.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8% were from cancer and 1.9% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.7% 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 Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Heart disease	234	222
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	204	193
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	56	61
Cerebrovascular diseases	50	56
Alzheimer's disease	47	45
Diabetes mellitus	37	35
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	22	32
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	23
Influenza and pneumonia	16	15
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	21

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 12, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Nov. 5, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	123	114