Bluegrass Times

There were 330 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending September 4, a 38.1 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending September 4, there were 1,252 deaths in the state. 15.3 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.7 percent were from cancer and 53.8 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.4 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 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	344	256
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	330	239
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	196	169
Heart disease	191	224
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	61	52
Cerebrovascular diseases	52	45
Diabetes mellitus	36	27
Alzheimer's disease	30	29
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	24	21
Influenza and pneumonia	14	18

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-09-04	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28
Alzheimer disease and dementia	80	86