Bluegrass Times

There were 59 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending November 27, a 11.9 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending November 27, there were 952 deaths in the state. 19.4 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.4 percent were from cancer and 22.7 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.1 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 2021-11-27	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	185	190
Heart disease	185	227
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	114	102
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	102	88
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	59	67
Cerebrovascular diseases	37	39
Diabetes mellitus	32	28
Alzheimer's disease	27	23
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	21	22
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	21

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2021-11-27	Number of Deaths 2021-11-20
Alzheimer disease and dementia	77	97