Bluegrass Times

There were 18 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending October 9, a 28.6 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 9, there were 1,114 deaths in the state. 17.7 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.1 percent were from cancer and 49.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 6.9 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 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	288	419
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	264	385
Heart disease	197	220
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	190	182
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	57	51
Cerebrovascular diseases	43	40
Alzheimer's disease	28	24
Diabetes mellitus	25	41
Influenza and pneumonia	18	14
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	18	24

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09	Number of Deaths 2021-10-02
Alzheimer disease and dementia	77	73