Bluegrass Times

There were 12 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending August 21, an increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 21, there were 1,086 deaths in the state. 19.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.7 percent were from cancer and 35.4 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.7 percent 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	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14
Heart disease	207	192
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	202	146
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	192	188
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	182	133
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	53	51
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	43
Alzheimer's disease	38	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	22
Diabetes mellitus	18	31
Influenza and pneumonia	12	< 10

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21	Number of Deaths 2021-08-14
Alzheimer disease and dementia	84	68