Bluegrass Times

There were 20 deaths with Alzheimer's disease listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending March 19, 2022, a 25% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 19, 2022, there were 561 deaths in the state. 21.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.3% were from cancer and 18.7% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.4% 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 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Heart disease	120	112
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	114	126
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	62	76
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	43	57
Cerebrovascular diseases	29	35
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	26	51
Alzheimer's disease	20	16
Diabetes mellitus	13	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 19, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending March 12, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	64	60