Bluegrass Times

There were 47 deaths with chronic lower respiratory disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending March 12, a 2.2% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 12, there were 557 deaths in the state. 18.9% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.5% were from cancer and 21.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 10.2% 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	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	120	142
Heart disease	105	141
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	70	128
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	51	91
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	47	46
Cerebrovascular diseases	32	31
Alzheimer's disease	15	27
Diabetes mellitus	13	17
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	11	11
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 12	Deaths in Week Ending March 5
Alzheimer disease and dementia	57	84