Bluegrass Times

There were 20 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky in the week ending Dec. 24, making up 2.9% of total deaths by all causes in Kentucky, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Dec. 24, there were 683 deaths in the state. 23% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.2% were from cancer and 9.1% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 15.2% 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	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Heart disease	157	23
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	138	20.2
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	50	7.3
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	42	6.1
Cerebrovascular diseases	35	5.1
Influenza and pneumonia	25	3.7
Diabetes mellitus	21	3.1
Alzheimer's disease	20	2.9
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	20	2.9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	12	1.8

Cause of Death	Number of Deaths	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	104	15.2