Bluegrass Times

There were 74 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending October 16, a 23.3 percent increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending October 16, there were 1,143 deaths in the state. 17.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 15.7 percent were from cancer and 45.6 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 7.4 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 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	275	300
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	246	274
Heart disease	195	202
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	179	193
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	74	60
Cerebrovascular diseases	50	44
Alzheimer's disease	26	28
Diabetes mellitus	25	26
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	18
Influenza and pneumonia	18	18

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-10-16	Number of Deaths 2021-10-09
Alzheimer disease and dementia	85	80