Bluegrass Times

There were 14 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending Jan. 1, a 48.1 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Jan. 1, there were 513 deaths in the state. 20.5 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.9 percent were from cancer and 34.5 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.3 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 2022-01-01	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25
Heart disease	105	152
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	93	130
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	92	124
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	84	120
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	39	52
Cerebrovascular diseases	24	35
Alzheimer's disease	14	27
Diabetes mellitus	12	12
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths 2022-01-01	Number of Deaths 2021-12-25
Alzheimer disease and dementia	53	74