Bluegrass Times

There were 98 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Kentucky during the week ending May 14, 2022, a 18.3% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 14, 2022, there were 463 deaths in the state. 24.8% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 21.2% were from cancer and 3.7% were from COVID-19.

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 May 14, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending May 7, 2022
Heart disease	115	162
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	98	120
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	48	33
Cerebrovascular diseases	18	31
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	17	26
Alzheimer's disease	14	18
Diabetes mellitus	13	21
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	10	14
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	14